Nexter MoU With Qatar’s Barzan Holdings on 1.5 Billion Euro Armored Vehicles Deal

French land systems maker, Nexter has signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar’s Barzan Holdings to implement a proposed sale of 490 VBCI armored vehicles to the Qatari Army worth an estimated Euro 1.5 billion.

The MoUs were signed at Dimdex 2018 in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. The first MoU seeks to create a joint venture with its Qatari partner, which will serve as the industrial base for the delivery and maintenance of VBCIs under the Al Rayyan program (acquisition of 490 VBCI).

This Memorandum of Understanding represents "a major step in the strategic partnership between Qatar and France," a Nexter statement said Tuesday.

"The VBCI program will strengthen the military capabilities of Qatar's armed forces and is a big step forward in the Qatari defense industry," Barzan Holdings boss Nasser Al Naimi was quoted in the statement.

The second memorandum of understanding between Barzan Holdings, Nexter and all other Al Rayyan participants formalizes industrial cooperation and the launch of the contract process.

 Qatar had signed a letter of intent for the supply of 490 VBCI, a potential contract of 1.5 billion euros, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron in Doha on December 7, 2017.