Kuwait's defence minister has said that buying Rafale fighter aircraft was worth 'serious consideration', the official Kuwait News Agency reported.

'On a Rafale French military aircraft deal, Sheikh Jaber al-Hamad al-Sabah said the issue will be looked at, noting that the French aircraft's high quality and advanced technology demands serious consideration with regard to buying them,' the agency said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in February that Paris and Kuwait were in talks on a possible sale of warships and 14 to 28 Rafale fighter aircraft. Dassault Aviation has yet to find a foreign buyer for its Rafale aircraft.

Sheikh Jaber, also deputy prime minister, said Kuwait's ruler discussed buying a nuclear reactor from France with Sarkozy during his visit to Kuwait in February. He gave no further details.

Following a meeting with Sarkozy in Paris in March, Sheikh Jaber said that both countries will cooperate over nuclear energy for civilian use and hinted that Kuwait could take a stake in French nuclear group Areva. - Reuters