VIDEO: UAE, France sign deal on energy cooperation

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan met French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for a private lunch at the Elysée Palace on Monday.

The two heads of state discussed opportunities for collaborating and expanding their longstanding partnership alongside overall developments and approaches to topics of regional and global concern. His Highness also congratulated President Macron on his country’s National Day, wishing France further progress and prosperity.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and Macron reviewed new agreements that expand decades of partnership and collaboration between the UAE and France across investment, the economy, cultural exchange, scientific innovation, advanced technology, future energy, food security, and climate change.

His Highness said that collaboration across energy of all kinds is critical, noting that the UAE is committed to supporting energy security to all people.

A deal between the UAE state oil company Adnoc and French energy giant Total Energies was signed “for cooperation in the area of energy supplies.”

The UAE and France signed a strategic agreement to cooperate in the energy sector, the French government said. The partnership aimed to identify joint investment projects in France, the UAE or elsewhere in the sectors of hydrogen, renewable and nuclear energy, the French government said in a statement.

“In the currently uncertain energy context, this agreement will pave the way for a stable long-term framework for cooperation, opening the way for new industrial contracts,” it added.

“The agreement we are signing with the United Arab Emirates is of double strategic importance: it allows us to address the pressing challenges of energy security in the short term, while preparing for a decarbonized future,” French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement.

In discussing regional and global instability, Mohamed Bin Zayed and Macron also expressed their joint commitment to favouring de-escalation, peaceful co-existence and relationship building as a way of working towards resolving such challenges.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed discussed the important role that France has undertaken in the Middle East, noting his interest in continuing to work together with France to promote peace, stability, and security for all in the region.

His Highness reiterated the common interest that the UAE and France share in confronting climate change, including the opportunity to move forward with clear action at COP28, which will be hosted in the UAE in 2023.

Macron awarded Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed the ‘’Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour,” the highest French national order, in appreciation of his role in strengthening friendship and cooperation relations between the UAE and France at various levels. In return, Sheikh Mohamed granted Macron the ‘’Order of Zayed,” the highest civilian honour in the UAE awarded to presidents and kings who have played prominent roles in serving the two countries’ relations and prosperity.

The UAE President was earlier welcomed at a formal reception ceremony in Paris to mark the official start of his inaugural state visit to France.
He was received at the Army Museum in Les Invalides by Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, accompanied by members of the French Republican Guard. The ongoing growth in trade between the UAE and France underscores their strong economic partnership and deep-rooted relations, supported by their leadership.

The visit of Mohamed Bin Zayed to France also confirms the strength of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two friendly countries.

From 2012 to 2021, the value of the non-oil trade between the UAE and France increased by 8 per cent, from Dhs23.2 billion in 2012 to over Dhs25.2 billion in 2021, according to data from Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, which showed a growth of 28 per cent in trade exchange over the past year compared with 2020, amounting to Dhs19.7 million.

The non-oil trade stands at Dhs256.1 billion over ten years.
In 2021, the number of French tourists coming to the UAE increased by 59 per cent, compared with 2020, thus totalling 311,570. The relations between the UAE and France have witnessed significant development on all fronts, including in sports.

WAM / Agencies