S.Arabia Eyes German Submarine Deal: Report

Berlin, Nov 4, IRNA -- Saudi Arabia plans to buy five German Type 209 submarines worth 2.5 billion euros, reported the Sunday daily Bild am Sonntag. The paper said that in the long term, the kingdom was interested in buying up to 25 submarines for 12 billion euros. Bild am Sonntag said it had information that the German chancellery had in the summer already signaled a willingness to examine such requests from Saudi Arabia ˈfavorablyˈ as soon as a new government has been formed. The daily added a government spokesperson refused to comment on what she called ˈpossible individual cases of arms exports.ˈ The submarines would be constructed by the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and the Nordseewerke Emden, both shipbuilding companies located in northern Germany, according to the report. The company ThyssenKrupp, to which the two shipyards belong, said there was ˈno project involving submarines for Saudi Arabia,ˈ but refused to say whether preliminary talks on such an order had been held. German arms sales to Saudi Arabia are a thorny issue given Riyadhˈs dismal human rights record and its role in the brutal pro-freedom crackdown in Bahrain./end