Macron seals 1bn deal with Croatia for 12 French fighter jets
RFI
26 Nov 2021, 04:16 GMT+10
French President Emmanuel Macron and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday hailed a freshly signed strategic partnership that includes the 1 billion euro acquisition of 12 French-built Rafale fighter jets by Zagreb.
"It is a sovereign choice, the contract we signed ... it is a historic choice," said Macron. "It will be the cement of a strategic convergence between our two countries and lays the groundwork for the defence of Europe," he added.
Croatia joined Nato in 2009 and became a member of the European Union in 2013, less than 15 years after the end of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
In May, Plenkovic said Croatia would buy the fighter jets in order to modernise its air force.
"These are aircraft that will influence Croatian standing on the international scale and allow us to contribute in the framework of Nato and Croatian defence missions," Plenkovic said.
Mario Banožić, the Croatian defence minister and his French counterpart, Florence Parly, signed the aircraft contracts along with Eric Trappier, the boss of Dassault Aviation, which manufacturs the Rafale.
The first six Rafales will be delivered between autumn 2023 and early 2024. The remaining six will be sent by spring 2025.
Croatia is the third country this year after Greece and Egypt to sign a contract for Rafales.
Subscribe and Follow
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
News RELEASES
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More Information
17
℃
Western allies outline new sanctions on Belarus over migrants
LONDON, England: The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada have agreed to tackle the ongoing migrant crisis on ...
African white rhinos flown to Rwanda to evade poachers
AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK, Rwanda: Thirty white rhinos from South Africa were flown by conservationists to Akagera National Park in Rwanda, ...
Mexican gang crashes into prison, flees with nine inmates
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: A Mexican gang crashed vehicles into a Mexican jail this week, in a successful bid to free ...
Laos-China railway begins operating in December
VIENTIANE, Laos: A railway connecting Laos and China will begin operations, though significantly adding to Laos' debt burden.The railway line, ...
Robot company will pay $200,000 for human faces for use on robots
PERM KRAI, Russia: Tech company Promobot is planning the launch of a new line of human-looking robots, but first they ...
Man discovers rare deep sea fish on San Diego beach
SAN DIEGO, California: Californian Jay Beiler was recently walking on San Diego's Black's Beach when he saw a disturbing-looking fish ...
China Evergrande worries keep lid on Asian stock markets
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia closed modestly lower Monday as markets appeared to be coming to grips with ...
US saw only 210,000 hired in November, falls short of expectations
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a reversal of the predictions of expected job growth issued by economists, U.S. employers hired only 210,000 ...
Dollar Tree raises prices to $1.25 in first price increase in 35 years
CHESAPEAKE, Virginia: Discount retail chain Dollar Tree said it will raise its prices from $1 to $1.25 for most of ...
GM cathode battery plant seeks to lower cost of electric car batteries
DETROIT, Michigan: General Motors has announced that it will construct a new cathode factory in North America for its electric ...
Capital One takes lead among major bank by ending overdraft fees
MCLEAN, Virginia: Capital One bank has announced plans to cancel overdraft fees early next year, and becoming the largest bank ...
BMW new XM hybrid concept vehicle to begin production in 2022
MUNICH, Germany: Automaker BMW has announced the launch of its new concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the first M class ...
