builder Fincantieri has signed a 3.8 billion euro ($4.3 billion) contract with Qatar's navy to build seven ships in the biggest naval deal ever inked by an Italian firm.
The overall agreement, valued at nearly 5 billion euros, includes the provision of missile systems and radar as well as training of Qatari crews by Italian forces.
Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti and her Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, signed the accords at a ceremony Thursday.
Pinotti said: "In this moment with ISIS, there is a very strong sense of danger in these countries, which are mostly very small. I think the magic formula wasn't just providing valued technical quality of our companies but showing that there is a government that supports this work and can train the crews."
