Qatar will sign a deal to buy thirty-six F-15 jets from the US as the two countries navigate tensions over President Donald Trump’s backing for a Saudi-led coalition’s move to isolate the country.
Qatar’s Defense Ministry said the deal would create 60,000 jobs in 42 US states while reducing the burden on US forces. The F-15 accord will lead to “closer strategic collaboration in our fight to counter violent extremism and promote peace and stability in our region and beyond,” the ministry said Wednesday.
Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah and his US counterpart, Jim Mattis, completed the $12 billion agreement on Wednesday in Washington.
The sale “will give Qatar a state of the art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar,” the Defense Department said.
The F-15 sale highlights the complex position the Trump administration finds itself in, forced to balance its focus on fighting terrorism against regional rivalries between key allies.
Last year, after the State Department approved the jet sale, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency issued a report saying that the proposed sale “enhances the foreign policy and national security of the United State.
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