BRASILIA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Wednesday in Geneva that Brazil's final decision on the purchase of 36 fighter planes will be political, local media reported.
"We will take into account the technical issues, but the final decision rests with the Minister of Defense and the President...It is not a purely military decision. It is a political decision," the minister told a news conference.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian Air Force announced it had completed the report on proposals by three companies: the Swedish Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen NG; the U.S. Boeing company, producer of the F-18 Super Hornet; and the consortium Rafale International, led by French company Dassault. But the result was not disclosed.
The related departments do not see eye to eye on what planes to buy. A Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper report on Tuesday said the Brazilian Air Force's first choice was the NG Gripen by Sweden's Saab, and not the government's pick, the French Rafale, which is more expensive.
In September last year, Lula indicated that the decision to purchase fighter jets would be political and strategic and the president expressed interest in acquiring the aircraft from the French consortium Rafale International.
"FAB [Brazilian Air Force] has the technical knowledge to make the evaluation. But the decision is political and strategic, and belongs to the president," he said.
President Lula will look into the issue next week when he returns to Brasilia after a short vacation in Bahia, a state in the northeastern part of the country.
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