French defense minister in Saudi Arabia to finalize an arms deals

The French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie will start tomorrow an official visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that will last for two days during which she will be meeting with the Saudi officials to discuss "an armament deal."

French diplomatic sources in Riyadh said the French minister will meet during her visit with the Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, the crown prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and the defense minister, adding that the " French minister will convey a message to the king and to the crown prince from the French President Jacques Chirac.

The sources added that the French minister will discuss details of " an arms deal Saudi Arabia is careful to finalize with France." France, however, is trying to compete with each of Britain and the US in campaigning for the tank "Le Claire " to al-Riyadh, while London and Washington propose "Challenger 2" and "MAA 2 Abrams " to the Saudis. Saudi Arabia had placed conditions for completing this deal, including the investment of 30 % of its value to technology transfer and advanced industries to Saudi Arabia, in implementation of the economic balance project applied by Riyadh on its purchase of arms since the 1980s.

Riyadh also calls for assembling machinery and warning systems inside Saudi Arabia with the aim to ensure work opportunities for hundreds of Saudi workers.