French arms sales to Pakistan as well as economic issues are expected to dominate the discussions Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will have during his stay here. Mr. Gilani is scheduled to sign a series of MoUs both for arms purchases and for non-military contracts in areas such as hydel power. He is also hoping for French support to obtain an exemption from customs duties on textile exports to Europe.
In the military field, the two countries have been discussing arms contracts to the tune of 450 million euros and informed sources indicate that an agreement has been reached on the financial modalities of the deal. The money is to be loaned at 4.5 per cent interest for a period of eight years by several French banks with state guarantees through COFACE, a public sector insurer for foreign trade. However, several points still remain to be clarified, especially the technology add-ons, which could be included in the 450 million euro contract.
French companies Thales, Sagem and Eurocopter are in the running for contracts. The Pakistani wish list includes night vision glasses, Damoclès cockpits with AASM kits for Mirage III fighter aircraft, electronic components and spare parts for Fennec helicopters. The integration of the systems will be done by electronics giant Sagem, it is learnt. Another agreement in the works is for an outright purchase of 10 Fennec AS 550 C3 helicopters valued at $60 million apiece.
“No one exactly knows how Mr. Gilani will occupy his four days here. His visit comes at a particularly delicate moment. Any question of arms sales to Pakistan will inevitably be linked by the French media to the sale of Agosta submarines where strong reverse kickbacks are alleged. Families of the 11 French engineers working on the Agosta project who died in a Karachi bomb blast in 2002 have yet to receive convincing explanations as to the real nature of the attack and it remains a sensitive subject. Both sides will want to keep their discussions extremely discreet. But Pakistan might use this opportunity to keep the Indians out of the initial discussions during the planned regional conference on Afghanistan,” senior French researcher and Pakistan specialist Jean-Luc Racine told The Hindu .
Christophe Jaffrelot, a specialist on India-Pakistan relations, said: “French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe's initial remarks could be interpreted as a hint to Pakistan not to expect too much from this visit. The visit is being kept discreet and what Mr. Gilani will be doing for four whole days remains a mystery.” Mr. Jaffrelot teaches at the prestigious Centre for Studies in International Relations (CERI).
