France will sign contracts worth 10bn euros (£7.2bn) with Libya, President Nicolas Sarkozy has said during a rare visit by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya and France have signed a number of business agreements at a ceremony hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
The pacts will cover an arms deal and the building of a civilian nuclear plant in Libya, he said.
The deals include Libya's purchase of 21 Airbus aircraft and a nuclear co-operation accord.
Mr Sarkozy said Libya's decision to renounce terrorism and nuclear weapons should be rewarded.
Their total value was not made public but earlier President Sarkozy said they would be worth 10bn euros (£7.2bn).
But critics - including inside Mr Sarkozy's own government - have decried Col Gaddafi's first visit since 1997.
Mr Sarkozy has defended the welcome granted to Col Gaddafi in the face of domestic criticism over the visit.
They include France's opposition socialists, as well as President Sarkozy's own human rights minister.
Opponents of Col Gaddafi's first visit since 1973 include France's opposition Socialists, as well as Mr Sarkozy's own human rights minister.
Warming ties
Planes and plants
France is the first Western country to welcome Col Gaddafi since he took the decision to end the country's diplomatic isolation four years ago.
France is the first Western country to welcome Col Gaddafi since he took the decision to end the country's diplomatic isolation four years ago.
Our country is not a doormat on which a leader can wipe off the blood of his crimes Rama YadeFrench human rights minister
Our country is not a doormat on which a leader can wipe off the blood of his crimes Rama YadeFrench human rights minister
Warming economic ties were given an additional spur in July, when negotiations between the two leaders resulted in the release of six foreign medics imprisoned in Libya on charges of infecting children with HIV.
Warming economic ties were given an additional spur in July, when negotiations between the two leaders resulted in the release of six foreign medics imprisoned in Libya on charges of infecting children with HIV.
Col Gaddafi later received his invitation to visit France.
Following a signing ceremony on Monday, it was confirmed that Libyan companies had agreed to buy 21 Airbus planes.
On Monday, Mr Sarkozy said the two men were set to sign an accord agreeing contracts worth 10bn euros.
National carrier Libyan Airlines will take four A350s, four A330s, and seven A320s, company officials and French officials said, while Afriqiyah Airlines will buy six A350s.
"We must encourage those who renounce terrorism, who renounce the possession of nuclear arms," Mr Sarkozy said after a meeting with the Libyan leader.
The deal concludes an initial agreement struck in June.
"France must speak with all of those who want to return to the road of respectability and reintegrate the international community," he added.
The two parties also signed a co-operation accord to develop the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the supply of one "or several" nuclear reactors to desalinate sea water, Mr Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
Mr Sarkozy mentioned arms sales and an agreement to construct a nuclear-powered desalination plant in Libya.
On the arms sector, the two signed a memorandum of co-operation, with Libya promising to negotiate exclusively with France for all future military purchases. No more details were given.
Previously, other deals mentioned have also included a fleet of Airbus passenger jets.
Sarkozy on defensive
The French oil company Total already has significant investments in the oil-rich North African country.
The five-day visit had received strong condemnation from various quarters.
'Shocking'
Mr Sarkozy said he had also asked Col Gaddafi for "progress on the path of human rights", reported French news agency AFP.
The five-day visit had been strongly condemned by the French opposition.
Socialist leader Francois Hollande said Mr Sarkozy had invited "a head of state who justifies international terrorism".
Socialist leader Francois Hollande said Mr Sarkozy had invited "a head of state who justifies international terrorism".
Col Gaddafi is having his own Bedouin tent built
Col Gaddafi had his own Bedouin tent put up in the hotel grounds
Centrist politician Francois Bayrou said the visit was "shocking".
Centrist politician Francois Bayrou said the visit was "shocking".
And Mr Sarkozy's junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, said: "Col Gaddafi must understand that our country is not a doormat on which a leader - whether terrorist or not - can wipe off the blood of his crimes."
And Mr Sarkozy's junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, said: "Col Gaddafi must understand that our country is not a doormat on which a leader - whether terrorist or not - can wipe off the blood of his crimes."
But Mr Sarkozy defended his actions, saying the right course was to "encourage those who renounce terrorism, who renounce the possession of nuclear arms".
"France must speak with all of those who want to return to the road of respectability and reintegrate the international community," he said.
Mr Sarkozy said he had asked Col Gaddafi for "progress on the path of human rights".
Libya ended decades of international isolation four years ago, when it gave up its pursuit of nuclear arms and pledged to renounce terrorism.
Libya ended decades of international isolation four years ago, when it gave up its pursuit of nuclear arms and pledged to renounce terrorism.
Libyan-French relations have overcome a few stumbling blocks in the past three decades, including the 1989 downing of a French airliner over Niger.
Col Gaddafi is travelling with an entourage of 400 officials and has erected a Bedouin tent for his stay in central Paris.
Libya accepted responsibility for that bombing and offered a compensation deal to the victims of the crash.
Col Gaddafi will travel with an entourage of 400 officials and is erecting a Bedouin tent for his stay in central Paris.
What do you think of Colonel Gadaffi's visit? Are you in France or Libya? Please send us your comments by using the form below.
What do you think of Colonel Gadaffi's visit? Are you in France or Libya? Please send us your comments by using the form below.
