France and Kuwait agreed Tuesday upon the purchase of 30 Airbus Caracal helicopters in a deal worth more than one billion dollars.
Paris will provide the versatile helicopters to Kuwait as part of a 2.5-billion-euro package of deals that the two sides agreed in October 2015.
The agreement comes nine months after France and Kuwait signed other major military deals.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the increasing military cooperation between France and Kuwait is meant to boost the regional capability in the fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.
"...with this decision, Kuwait further strengthens the strategic partnership that has been linking our two countries over several decades," the French defense minister said, adding that France and Kuwait have been operating "side by side in the fight against Daesh in Iraq and Syria."
France reached mega deals with Saudi Arabia last year to provide the kingdom with some modern military equipment. The issue of deals has sparked concerns as the regime in Riyadh continues the deadly campaign against Yemen. Kuwait is also involved in the Saudi military aggression.
Many have also accused France of triggering an arms race in the Persian Gulf region as other countries there are in search of more modern weapons to deter potential threats by the Saudis and their allies.
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