France–United Arab Emirates relations

France–United Arab Emirates relations

France
United Arab Emirates

Militarily, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and France negotiated a defence cooperation agreement to diversify the UAE's procurement of weaponry, in addition to a significant military relationship with the United States; France is one of the country’s primary providers of military matériel.[1]

Culturally, as of 2008 the Sorbonne university and Louvre museum were both establishing extensions in the UAE,[2] and there was a plan to recreate a miniature Lyon city in Dubai complete with public squares, restaurants and museums.[3]

On May 25, 2009, French president Nicolas Sarkozy visited Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he and the UAE's president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan formally opened a French military base, France's first permanent base in the Persian Gulf, with up to 500 French troops.[4] Sarkozy also visited the site of a Louvre Museum branch which France is opening in the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that co-operation with France was a top priority of UAE foreign policy.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Library of Congress Country Profile: UAE, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/UAE.pdf
  2. ↑ USA Today; "Louvre museum to build branch in UAE," March 2007
  3. ↑ Gulf News, "UAE and France share strong bilateral relations," May 2008.
  4. ↑ "French President Sarkozy opens UAE base". BBC NEWS. May 26, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Relationship with France is top priority for UAE, Abdullah says". Gulfnews. May 26, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
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