ABU DHABI - Talks between Dassault Aviation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a possible sale of the Rafale fighter jet are going well, with Dassault officials hoping for a deal in the medium to long term, an executive of the aircraft company said at the IDEX trade show.
"The discussions are going well," the executive said. An announcement on the Rafale was not expected in the near term, he said. In the short term, Dassault was supporting the Mirage 2000 operated by the UAE, while the Rafale was seen as a medium- or long-term prospect, he said.
Good relations between the UAE and France have been restored after hitting a rough patch last year, when a report ran late June in the daily newspaper Le Figaro which offended the Abu Dhabi authorities.
The Dassault family owns the Figaro and is the controlling shareholder of Dassault Aviation.
At a low point in bilateral relations, UAE defense officials asked the U.S. government for technical information on the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Subsequently, relations were smoothed out between France and Abu Dhabi.
"They managed to fix it," a gulf defense official said. "The talks are back on."
French Prime Minister François Fillon recently visited Abu Dhabi, seen as a sign of improved ties between Paris and the UAE.
France sets great store by an export sale of the Rafale, which is the standard bearer of national prestige in world politics, a much-needed source of cash for the straitened defense budget and an export beacon for the French aerospace industry.
Good relations between the UAE and France have been restored after hitting a rough patch last year, when a report ran late June in the daily newspaper Le Figaro which offended the Abu Dhabi authorities.
The Dassault family owns the Figaro and is the controlling shareholder of Dassault Aviation.
At a low point in bilateral relations, UAE defense officials asked the U.S. government for technical information on the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Subsequently, relations were smoothed out between France and Abu Dhabi.
"They managed to fix it," a gulf defense official said. "The talks are back on."
French Prime Minister François Fillon recently visited Abu Dhabi, seen as a sign of improved ties between Paris and the UAE.
France sets great store by an export sale of the Rafale, which is the standard bearer of national prestige in world politics, a much-needed source of cash for the straitened defense budget and an export beacon for the French aerospace industry.
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