Relations between France and the UAE are firing on all fronts, says Michel Miraillet, French Ambassador to the UAE.
From building the emirate’s high-tech transport systems to launching satellites into space, French industries are at the heart of the UAE’s development story. And there’s also the matter of the Louvre Abu Dhabi set to open in the capital next year.
All-round growth
Speaking to GN Focus at the French embassy in Abu Dhabi, Miraillet says the shared trading platform of the two countries is impressive and growing in all directions. “I believe we have one of the most dynamic, multifaceted relationships,” he adds.
According to data released by the French Business Council in Dubai, two-way trade reached €5.1 billion (about Dh23.4 billion) last year. French exports to the UAE, which grew by 12.2 per cent year-on-year, comprised the bulk of the overall figure, with a share of €3.9 billion. Exports from the UAE to France totalled €1.2 billion — a year-on-year increase of 7.3 per cent.
Trade has reportedly blossomed further this year. By the end of June, bilateral commerce increased by up to Dh1.4 billion compared to the same period last year.
The figures were announced earlier this month by Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, who received Majdi Abed, the newly appointed French Consul-General in Dubai, at the Dubai Customs headquarters, as reported by the UAE news agency WAM.
It quoted Bin Sulayem as saying: “We enjoy exceptional economic and cultural ties with France as it is one of Dubai’s leading trading partners in Europe. Dubai-France bilateral trade amounted to Dh10.6 billion in the first half of this year, marking 15 per cent growth compared to the first half of 2013.”
Cultural collaboration
Cultural ties between the two countries have been further cemented with the inception of the highly anticipated Louvre Abu Dhabi. The project, estimated to have cost billions of dirhams, is slated for completion next year.
According to AFP, Abu Dhabi paid the French museum $520 million (about Dh1.9 billion) to use the Louvre name for the next 30 years. It will also exhibit some of the world’s most revered artworks on loan from the institution — including paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Claude Monet and Andy Warhol.
Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel, who designed the museum, says, “I wanted this building to mirror a protected territory that belongs to the Arab world and this geography.”
But there have been hitches. Following claims by an English newspaper that the workers on the Saadiyat Island projects — which include The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum — were mistreated, human rights groups and activists called for the Western institutions involved to demand reform.
However, Miraillet says, “To some extent, the UAE will always be fighting the image built by people who don’t know and don’t want to know the facts. I can say this is not the case from what we’ve seen for those working on the Louvre project. They are treated well. And that is very important for us and our image, as well as the UAE’s — that they continue to be well looked after.
“Nobody wants to see the Louvre project connected with problems that don’t exist.”
Once the Louvre Abu Dhabi opens its doors, the number of French visitors to the Emirates will increase. Indeed, tourism between the two countries is likely to witness a surge, especially if pre-registration for Schengen visas for UAE nationals is dropped in the coming months — which the ambassador is keen to see pushed through.
In February, 523 out of 577 representatives of the European Parliament voted in favour of canning visa requirements for UAE nationals travelling to the Schengen Area states. The change in policy would see the UAE become the first Arab country to be exempted from Schengen visa rules for stays of up to 90 days. The bill is yet to be ratified.
“France is ready to drop visa pre-registration for Emiratis. We hope it will be ready by next year, but first it has to pass through all the other [Schengen] countries involved,” says Miraillet.
Last year, up to 100,000 Emiratis visited France, spending an average of €4,000 a day. On the other hand, some 20,000 French tourists visited the UAE last year, 75 per cent of whom holidayed in Dubai, according to Embassy data.
