Tuesday, October 13, 2015

The 10 Billion Euro Alliance


French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Tuesday that France and Saudi Arabia signed deals totaling 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion).  These deals will continue to strengthen their already strong military and economic ties.

The French and Saudi governments began to build their alliance a few years ago when the ties between Washington and Riyadh sour under the Obama administration. The biggest reason the relationship between the U.S and Saudi government began to sour was because Obama backed a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers. Although France was also involved in the nuclear weapon negotiations they shared Saudi Arabia’s concerns, “that the deal could bolster Iran's influence in the region if economic sanctions are not lifted gradually.” Saudis were especially worried about this because they and Iran “back opposite sides in the civil war in Syria.”
This new deal will include "the start of negotiations to provide Saudi Arabia with its own communication and observation satellites — something the kingdom has been coveting as it expands its regional military reach and fights a war against Shiite rebels in Yemen.”

A French official confirmed a deal is also expected for military helicopters, previously “Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth billions of dollars to buy 23 helicopters for the Interior Ministry, 50 Airbus jets and two possible nuclear reactors from France.”

Saudi Arabia is trying to create more jobs for its growing population by “diversifying its economy away from oil and to creating more jobs in the private sector.” A major drop in oil prices seriously hurt their biggest stream of revenue.

It will be interesting to see if France and Saudi Arabia can continue to work together and grow their economies and militaries. It will also be interesting to see how long Saudi Arabia will be affected by low oil prices and whether or not it will cause problems with their internal government.   


Ashley Rot  

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