Kuwait and France sign defence deal

James Calderwood, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: October 23. 2009 10:01PM UAE / October 23. 2009 6:01PM GMT

KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait signed a defence agreement with France on Wednesday that analysts say will cement growing French influence in the Gulf and help to finalise the sale of Rafale combat jets to the emirate.

Kuwait’s minister of defence and deputy prime minister, Sheikh Jaber al Hamad al Sabah, said in Paris yesterday that the agreement, which will ease the exchange of information and training, “allows clearer flexibility for the political leaderships and paves the way for strategic co-operation between Kuwaiti and French forces”.

Sheikh Jaber repeated his country’s desire to buy the Dassault Rafale combat jets and is awaiting terms of the sale from Paris. He said the French offers that accompany the agreement will be “submitted to the constitutional and legal institutions to make a decision” and “we will soon see this plane within Kuwait’s armed forces”.

The agreement is the latest sign of increasing military co-operation between the two countries. President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed the sale of 14 to 28 Rafale jets in February, the first visit of a French leader to Kuwait since 1991. Mr Sarkozy’s tour included Bahrain and Oman, other countries in the Gulf he said had been “neglected” by the French administration.

The French military, which had helped liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation in 1991, held joint military manoeuvres with their Kuwaiti counterparts in the country’s desert in April this year. The last military agreement signed between the two countries was in 1992.

The French defence minister, Herve Morin, said after signing the accord: “France has decided to regain its place and to play a full role to secure the stability and security of this strategic region.”

“Countries in the Gulf know that they can find in France a second partner, one which is a friend of the Americans but which has its own vision of security and stability,” Mr Morin said.

But analysts dispute whether the French are trying to set themselves up as an alternative strategic partner to the US in the Gulf, or are just using this angle as a sales pitch for the new Rafale jets, which were introduced in 2000.

“Sarkozy has taken charge of placing Rafale everywhere. He will sell it wherever he can. It’s not about being interested in Kuwait; it’s business first,” said Assaf Kfoury, the general manager of Tactical Report, a Lebanese provider of intelligence on Middle East energy and defence.

“Kuwait’s relationship with France will never be as comprehensive as its relationship with the US. Kuwait wants to buy the US’s Super Hornet more than the Rafale. They already have a defence agreement with the US, and it’s much more expansive,” Mr Kfoury said.

Riad Kahwaji, the CEO of Inegma, an institute for Near East and Gulf military analysis based in Dubai, said: “None of the current players can replace the US, but they can play a stronger role in the region.”

France now has the second largest naval fleet in the region, they opened the Gulf’s only non-US foreign base in Abu Dhabi this year and they have a deal to replace the UAE’s fleet of Mirage jets with 60 Rafales, Mr Kahwaji said. “It’s clear that France is pushing to have a bigger role. When one country sells fifth-generation fighters to another, it’s not just about making a buck.”

jcalderwood@thenational.ae