DUBAI, 18 February 2004 — The United Arab Emirates will take delivery of a first batch of the latest US-built F-16 jet fighters before the end of 2004, the air force commander announced in a statement published in Gulf News yesterday.
“The UAE will start receiving the first batch of the 80 fighters gradually before the end of this year,” Maj. Gen. Khaled Mubarak Al-Bu Ainan said.
The United Arab Emirates signed a contract worth $6.4 billion for 80 of the F-16 Falcon fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp in March 2000 for delivery from the end of 2004 through 2007.
According to AFP, the Desert Falcon will have special fuel tanks for extended range, new cockpit displays, a new mission computer and other advanced features including US Northrop Grumman radar for improved tracking of multiple targets.
Iraq Donors Conference
A conference of some 40 donor countries to be hosted in UAE capital Abu Dhabi will take place on Feb. 28 and 29, the official WAM news agency reported yesterday.
The meeting follows on from a conference in Madrid last October when donor nations and institutions committed $33 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq, in addition to $18.6 billion earmarked by the United States.
Ban on Live Poultry and Eggs
The government has imposed a ban on the import of live poultry and hatching eggs from Cambodia, which has reported three cases of the deadly bird flu so far.
“It is forbidden to import live poultry and hatching eggs from Cambodia, where some cases of bird flu have appeared,” said UAE Minister of Agriculture Saeed Al-Raqbani. His statement was carried by WAM news agency.
The UAE which acts as regional trade hub for a lot of goods flowing from Asia to the rest of the Middle East and Europe has already slapped a similar ban on live birds and eggs from Laos.
— Additional input from AFP
