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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