French Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius (R) shakes hands with Saudi Prince and Defense minister Mohamed Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saoud, after a press conference at the ministry in Paris. AFP
AFP/Paris
France said it would look into building two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, which is part of some $12 billion (10.7 billion euros) in deals announced Wednesday with the kingdom.
Under one of the agreements Airbus will sell 23 h-145 multipurpose helicopters to Saudi Arabia for 500 million euros ($560 million) as well as launch a feasibility study into building the reactors, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.
A slew of deals worth billions of euros were announced following the first "Franco-Saudi Joint Commission" meeting in Paris, led by Fabius and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohamed bin Salman.
Fabius also mentioned the Saudi Arabian Airlines order for 50 Airbus passenger planes worth some $8 billion, first announced at last week's Paris Air Show.
The reactor study takes on added significance given the current efforts by Saudi Arabia's rival, Iran, to develop its own nuclear capabilities.
