According to the official reports, negotiations between France and the United Arab Emirates on Dassault Aviation's Rafale fighter jet are taking longer than expected but Paris hopes to strike an agreement by the end of this year.

An agreement struck this year would mean that next-generation Rafale jets could be delivered by 2014, a French official familiar with the negotiations told Defensenews. com.

The official told Defensenews. com that this so-called F4 standard of the multirole Rafale would be a true "fifth-generation" aircraft. The United Arab Emirates is mulling the purchase of 14-28 planes experts say.

The F3 standard Rafale is in service with the French military only; Islamist lawmakers in Kuwait have spoken against buying the Rafale, a fourth-generation fighter, arguing other models are more advanced.

The Rafale would be tested next month in the desert emirate before a final decision is made, Kuwait's Defense Ministry recently said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Kuwait last year -- the first trip there by a French head of state since 1991 -- to lobby for Dassault.

It was reported that in the 1980s and 1990s, Dassault sold many of its Mirage jets but the relatively expensive Rafale hasn't been able to convince buyers. Morocco, usually a reliable customer for France, chose Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighter instead.

Defensenews. com further reports that the United Arab Emirates armed forces are flying Mirage 2000-9 jets and France is mulling to buy them back to sweeten the deal. United Arab Emirates officials are also looking to upgrade the new aircraft with more advanced radar and electronic warfare systems as well as a beefed-up engine. (With Inputs from Agencies)