Qatar and Italy sign a nearly $6b deal for naval vessels

Qatar announces a five billion euro order for seven warships from Italy in the midst of a nearly two-month diplomatic crisis with neighboring Saudi Arabia and its allies.

“We have signed a contract on behalf of the Qatari navy to acquire seven warships from Italy for five billion euros ($5.9 billion),” Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani says at a Doha press conference with his visiting Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano.

It follows the signing of a preliminary contract in June 2016 for the deal between the Italian group Fincantieri and Qatar for four corvettes, an amphibious vessel and two patrol boats.

In June this year, the United States agreed a $12-billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Qatar, re-affirming support for the emirate in the throes of the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf in decades.

— AFP