Germans Clinch Deals at UAE Arms Show

For the second day running, a German company on Monday walked away with the lion's share of contracts announced by the United Arab Emirates at a major arms show in Abu Dhabi. Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH clinched a $209 million deal to help supply a chemical defense system for the UAE armed forces, said military procurement chief Brigadier Obaid al-Ketbi. The announcement, on the second day of IDEX 2005, comes amid growing military and economic links between Berlin and Abu Dhabi, where German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is expected later this month. His trip, part of an accelerated exchange of visits by top officials of the two countries, might lead to the signing of a letter of intent for the sale of German tanks and submarines to the UAE, the German financial daily Handelsblatt reported Monday. The newspaper reported on Monday that the UAE wants to buy hundreds of German military tanks and a number of submarines.