The red-carpet treatment Macron can expect from Gulf political heavyweights would present France as the EU powerhouse in the Gulf and Middle East since Britain’s exit from the bloc.
It’s known
to many that France has deep ties to the United Arab Emirates, a federation of
seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks.
According
to report, French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the energy-rich Persian
Gulf Friday, hoping to seal a major arms contract after this fall's Australian
submarine deal debacle and to strengthen France’s role in the region.
The
two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia comes a month
before France assumes the rotating European Union presidency — and ahead of the
French 2022 presidential election where Macron is expected to seek a second
term.
Returning
from the Gulf with a contract to sell French fighter jets to the Emiratis, a
deal that Paris and Abu Dhabi have discussed for almost a decade, would boost
France’s defence industry after the collapse of a $66 billion contract for
Australia to buy 12 French submarines.
“Macron
stands out among European Union leaders with his willingness to be in the
spotlight, to drive the foreign policy and push things ahead,” said Silvia
Colombo, an expert on EU-Gulf relations at the International Affairs Institute
in Rome.
But,
primarily, Macron is pursuing French business interests, Colombo said. “He has
a very clear idea that he has to go where the business community wants to be,
where France can make economic gains.”
Macron’s
keen interest in forging personal relationships with leaders like Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and his counterpart in Saudi
Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud, makes him a welcome guest. Both Gulf
leaders value a degree of pragmatism when discussing democracy and human rights
– issues on which their countries have been heavy criticized by rights groups
and European lawmakers — while pursuing business opportunities.
The UAE
opened a French naval base in 2009 at Abu Dhabi’s Port Zayed. French warplanes
and personnel are also stationed at Al-Dhafra Air Base, a major facility
outside the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi that’s also home to several thousand
American troops.
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