BRASILIA – The presidents of Brazil and France, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, respectively, on Monday sealed a military naval and aeronautic alliance that will provide technology for Brazilian industry and also a conduit to the Latin American market.

The defense agreements signed on Monday during the French leader’s visit here establish the basis for the construction of five submarines, one of them nuclear-powered, and 50 EC-725 helicopters by the firm Eurocopter, an affiliate of the European EADS group, with all the aircraft to be bought by Brazil.

According to the pacts, the subs and the helicopters will be built in Brazil – which will receive all the technology, except the nuclear technology – and the factories that will be set up to carry out the project will be able to make potential future sales to other Latin American countries.

The entire operation, which will be completed in several stages that will conclude in 2021, means for Brazil an expenditure of about $12.3 billion, of which about $9 billion will be allocated for the purchase of military equipment.

In addition, within the framework of Lula and Sarkozy’s meeting, Brazil announced its decision to begin negotiations for the purchase of 36 Rafale combat aircraft from the French firm Dassault Aviation.

At a joint press conference, Lula did not say whether the announcement means that the bidding for the planes is finished. Other firms that have been competing for the sale include Sweden’s Saab with its Gripen fighter jets, and U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, with its F-18 Super Hornet.

“It’s only a decision to begin negotiations,” Lula said.

However, he went on to give clearer clues of the seriousness with which Brasilia takes the pending talks, noting that Brazil and France are not negotiating a simple commercial association but that they aspire to “create, construct and sell a lot together.”

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said that the talks with Dassault do not suggest “a mere purchase,” because France has offered Brasilia “the possibility that fighters may be manufactured in Brazil” for sale even to other countries in Latin America. EFE