UAE | Government
UAE enjoys strong relations with France
The UAE and France have made significant progress over the last few months with regard to developing peaceful nuclear energy.
- By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:21 May 20, 2008
Dubai: The UAE and France have made significant progress over the last few months with regard to developing peaceful nuclear energy.
The two countries signed a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement in January.
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed two agreements on nuclear and military cooperation and three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) on intellectual property, transport and education.
The two countries also agreed to set up a high-level joint committee to supervise cooperation in the areas of nuclear power generation, water desalination, basic and applied research, agronomy, earth sciences, medicine and industry.
Signed by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, and French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner, the nuclear agreement provides a framework for cooperation between the two countries in the evaluation and potential use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Museum accord
The two countries are working together on several high-profile projects including the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The 24,000-square-metre branch of the famous Paris museum is expected to open in 2012 as part of Saadiyat Island's Cultural District project. It will be housed in a futuristic building designed by star architect Jean Nouvel, who also designed the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.
The historic accord is of huge benefit for both parties. France is profiting substantially from the agreement: in exchange for $247 million (Dh907.1 million), it will dispatch 200 to 300 artworks to the Louvre Abu Dhabi during a 10-year period and for the management expertise provided it will be paid $214.5 million (Dh787.7 million) over 20 years.
In addition, four temporary exhibitions a year will be provided for 15 years in exchange for $253.5 million (Dh931 million). Abu Dhabi will also finance restoration of the Château de Fontainebleau's theatre, which will be named after Shaikh Khalifa.
The agreement ensures French museum expertise will assist with the acquisition of an Abu Dhabi art collection over the next decade.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi will be included in the programme of international exhibitions exchanged between major museums worldwide. The opportunity also provides for long-term loans from the Louvre and major French museums such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, and Musee d'Orsay. Another project involving the two countries is the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
Earlier this year Sarkozy attended a special ceremony in Abu Dhabi to mark the laying of the foundation for the Paris-Sorbonne University. The new campus will be located on Reem Island and is scheduled to open in October 2009.
The university is currently operating out of a temporary campus until it relocates late next year. The institution specialises in humanities and the majority of courses are taught in French.
As part of Sarkozy's visit a commemorative inscription was signed to recognise a shared commitment to education between France and the UAE. It was then sealed in a capsule and laid in the foundations of the new campus.
Looking back: Long history of ties
France and the UAE have a long and positive political and economic history. With over 10,000 French nationals in the UAE, the country is a favoured destination of the French.
The UAE has also been a key partner and represents the largest market for French businesses in the Middle East. A quarter of all French exports go to the Middle East and a third of that is destined to the Gulf.
During his state visit in January 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the UAE is "a country which has become, in thirty years, the first partner [in the Middle East] on the economic, military and now cultural level." Economically France is the seventh largest supplier of goods to the UAE and only the third largest European contributor.
Good bilateral ties between the UAE and France have resulted from a similar political will. The UAE confirmed its commitment to closer ties with France and to raise the level of their cooperation in cultural, academic, linguistic, scientific and technical fields, based on a closer and balanced partnership.
According to the UAE embassy in France, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was able to form personal ties with all French Presidents from Valery Giscard d'Estaing to Jacques Chirac.
The first cultural and technical cooperation agreement dates back to Shaikh Zayed's first official visit to France in 1975. From then on many conventions and protocols have been signed. The first defence agreement signed between the two countries sealed their positive, yet eminently politically and strategic relations. Cooperation in the archeological field was carried out in Al Ain, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.
- Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
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