Azerbaijan may order three Gowind patrol boats

Gowind patrol boat - Public domain

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Azerbaijan could afford three Gowind patrol boats from Naval Group


By Michel Cabirol  


Naval Group could very shortly sign in Azerbaijan an order estimated between 400 and 500 million euros for the sale of three patrol boats of the Adroit type. Emmanuel Macron is going there next week.

The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, who had received on July 20 at the Elysee during a working lunch the President of Azerbaijan I lham Aliev, must make a stop of a few hours next week in Baku to meet again his counterpart. Emmanuel Macron will also participate in Yerevan (Armenia) at the Francophonie Summit  on 11 and 12 October. The talks between the two heads of state will again focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which opposes Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also on a contract, which could be signed between Naval Group and Baku. "Everything is ready" , says one at La Tribune. Especially as Azerbaijanis are ready to buy this equipment to France.

This order involves the sale of three Gowind patrols, the Adroit (OPV 90), which would be manufactured largely by the local Baku Shipyard yard on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The total amount of this sale would be between 400 and 500 million euros, depending on the Israeli configuration and equipment selected. These warships will be very poorly armed, according to our information. Ilham Aliyev met on 19 July with Naval Group CEO Hervé Guillou, who told him of good opportunities for military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and France.

The Caspian Sea and its treasures
In mid-August,  Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan  and Turkmenistan signed an agreement described as historic and which finally defines the status of the Caspian Sea. An inland sea in full legal vacuum since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and which contains large deposits of hydrocarbons. These deposits are estimated at nearly 50 billion barrels of oil and nearly 300,000 billion m3 of natural gas. In addition, the sea Caspian is home to the world's largest population of sturgeon beluga, whose eggs are eaten in the form of caviar. The most expensive Caspian caviar comes from the eggs of a rare albino sturgeon found in the south of the body of water. It is in this context that Azerbaijan wants to equip itself with patrol boats in order to monitor its offshore installations, strengthen its means of fight against illicit trafficking and of the fishing police.

In July, the two Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Ilham Aliyev attended the presentation of three Franco-Azerbaijani agreements on water management, aeronautical equipment and space cooperation. In particular, CNES President  Jean-Yves Le Gall signed a framework agreement with Azercosmos President Rashad Nabiyev to intensify space cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the field of Earth observation. France is ready to accompany Azerbaijan, which is giving a new impetus to its space program, in the development of this new activity. 

Source: latribune.fr

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