France eyes new Qatar Rafale warplane deal

Qatar has expressed its desire to press ahead with a new Rafale warplane deal after buying 36 jets since 2015, a French defence ministry source has said.

The development is coming just days after the minister visited Doha to cement military ties.

In a statement on Friday, the French Defence Ministry said the discussions in Qatar had “focused on strengthening the Franco-Qatari strategic partnership, founded on diplomatic, operation and industrial cooperation”.

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Qatar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The source declined to confirm a report from economic daily La Tribune newspaper on Tuesday that Doha wanted to buy 24 extra Dassault-made planes and possibly upgrade its existing fleet with the latest technologies. La Tribune did not identify its sources.

The source said minister Sebastien Lecornu had the impression there was “a will to go further” after his talks with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, saying that could mean buying new planes and upgrading the existing fleet.

The two countries sealed an initial $7 billion (6.34 billion euros) Rafale deal in 2015 before Qatar ordered a further 12 in 2017.

India last week approved the purchase of 26 Rafales, the latest in a string of contracts for Dassault, which 18 months ago received an order for 80 units from the United Arab Emirates.