France to have military base in UAE

Abu Dhabi, 2008 Jan 15, Al-Manar
 
France will have a permanent military base in the United Arab Emirates under a deal signed on Tuesday during a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy to Abu Dhabi, a French presidential source said.
 
France and the United Arab Emirates also signed military and nuclear energy deals, the state news agency WAM reported. An agreement to "boost relations between the two friendly countries through military cooperation" was inked by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan and French Defense Minister Herve Morin, it said.
 
WAM did not give details, but the French daily Le Monde had said it would provide for setting up a French naval base in Abu Dhabi, the first such French facility in the oil-rich Gulf region. The other agreement "outlines a cooperation framework for the assessment and possible use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends."