France and Qatar signed a 6.3 billion-euro ($7.02 billion) deal on Monday for the sale of 24 Rafale fighter jets, an accord President François Hollande hailed as a mark of Gulf Arab regard for French regional strategy including its firm line on Iran, reports Reuters.
The contract - the third this year for Dassault after deals to sell Rafale jets to Egypt and India - also includes MBDA missiles, and the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French military.
Officials said the accord signed by Hollande and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also provided for the training of a number of Qatari intelligence officers.
"It's a good choice," said Hollande, who was due to go on later to Saudi Arabia, where he is to attend a summit on Tuesday of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh.
"If we are present here in Qatar and the region it is because France is considered a reliable country which a partner country can give their confidence to," he said, adding that French 'credibility' in the region helped with Rafale sales.