BERLIN - Qatar is considering buying up to 200 German tanks at a cost of around two billion euros ($2.46 billion), according to a report published on Sunday.
News weekly Spiegel reported that the Qataris were interested in acquiring the Leopard-2 tanks and that a delegation from defence firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann had already travelled to Qatar to discuss the possible deal.
Last month, Saudi Arabia expressed interest in buying between 600 and 800 Leopard-2 tanks, Germany's main battle tank, for up to 10 billion euros, according to media reports.
The reported sale caused difficulties for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who came under fire from opposition politicians and even members of her own ruling centre-right coalition in light of democratic uprisings in the Middle East.
Spiegel said both Merkel's office and the economy ministry were in favour of the deal with Doha.
US Defense Department, Pentagon, said last week that it plans to sell 60 more Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile systems to Kuwait in a deal worth an estimated USD4.2 billion.
The deal includes the sale of 60 PAC-3 systems, 20 launching stations, four radar systems and control stations, personnel training and training equipment, and spare parts.
Kuwait is one of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which are all major buyers of US armaments.
On Thursday, December 29, 2011, the US formally announced a 30-billion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia which is set to create around 50,000 job opportunities for Americans grappling with an ailing economy.
According to the agreement, the US will provide the Saudi military with 84 new Boeing F-15SA fighter jets and modernize 70 existing warplanes. The deal also includes munitions, spare parts, training and maintenance contracts, US officials said.
