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| Brazil and France in jets talks | Brazil and France in jets talks |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Brazil has entered into negotiations with France to buy 36 fighter jets, the two countries have announced. | Brazil has entered into negotiations with France to buy 36 fighter jets, the two countries have announced. |
| In exchange for the $4bn tender, France would buy about a dozen military cargo planes, they said in a joint statement. | In exchange for the $4bn tender, France would buy about a dozen military cargo planes, they said in a joint statement. |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Brazil to attend Independence Day celebrations, but a formal decision on the deal is not expected this week. | French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Brazil to attend Independence Day celebrations, but a formal decision on the deal is not expected this week. |
| France is competing with the United States and Sweden to supply Brazil's air force with 36 new modern warplanes. | France is competing with the United States and Sweden to supply Brazil's air force with 36 new modern warplanes. |
| ANALYSIS Gary Duffy, BBC News, Sao Paulo | |
| President Sarkozy seems to have established strong personal relations with President Lula, but also clearly understood the central Brazilian requirement to allow this process to move forward: the Brazilian government was adamant that the transfer of technology was decisive. | |
| France also shrewdly helped its cause on other fronts, such as backing a long-standing Brazilian effort to secure a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. | |
| The move towards buying the French fighters is a further sign of the deepening defence contacts between the two countries. As a developing nation, Brazil offers huge opportunities to other nations looking for lucrative contacts, and France has skilfully achieved a key position here. | |
| Meanwhile Brazil, which has been adopting an increasingly prominent diplomatic role in the world, is now strengthening its military position as well. | |
| Ahead of Mr Sarkozy's visit, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signalled that France's Rafale jet, built by Dassault, was favourite. | |
| The Rafale had an "exceptional comparative advantage" because of France's guarantee to share all military technology with Brazil as part of the deal, he told the AFP news agency. | The Rafale had an "exceptional comparative advantage" because of France's guarantee to share all military technology with Brazil as part of the deal, he told the AFP news agency. |
| Talks with France over the deal were at a "very advanced stage", he told other media outlets. | Talks with France over the deal were at a "very advanced stage", he told other media outlets. |
| If it goes ahead, this will be the first time France has sold the Rafale overseas. | If it goes ahead, this will be the first time France has sold the Rafale overseas. |
| Brazilian officials are expected to announce the winner of the bid in October, AFP reports. | |
| Presidents Sarkozy and Lula were expected to sign on Monday an already-agreed $10bn (£6bn; 7bn euros) deal for Brazil to buy five French submarines and 50 military transport helicopters. | Presidents Sarkozy and Lula were expected to sign on Monday an already-agreed $10bn (£6bn; 7bn euros) deal for Brazil to buy five French submarines and 50 military transport helicopters. |
| In an interview with Brazil's O Globo newspaper on Sunday, Mr Sarkozy said: "The relationship between Brazil and France is not one of supplier and client, but of partners. | |
| "We want to act together because we share the same values and a same vision on the big international goals." |