French President Emmanuel Macron hosted United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan for lunch in Paris on Monday, with increased diesel supplies on the menu for their official talks.
The UAE has emerged as a key partner for Western countries as they scramble for energy supplies worldwide to replace imports from sanction-hit Russia.
Sheikh Mohamed was on his first overseas state visit since taking office in May following the death of his half-brother.
The visit is expected to conclude with “the announcement of guarantees given by the UAE on quantities of hydrocarbon supplies to France,” Macron’s office announced before the visit.
The deal will cover diesel in particular, which the UAE does not supply at present.
France is seeking “to diversify its sources of supply in the context of the conflict in Ukraine,” the Elysee source added, referring to EU sanctions on Russian oil.
Sheikh Mohamed’s decision to make his first official visit to France “is a conscious one that acknowledges the historic ties between the two nations but also the potential for even greater cooperation and growth with France,” his diplomatic advisor Anwar Gargash said on Friday.
“The UAE is determined to remain a reliable partner and source of energy,” he added. “We have sold our oil to the far-east for 40 years and now we are directing it toward Europe in this time of crisis.”
The UAE president’s visit to France came after Joe Biden’s first Middle East tour as president, which included a visit to Saudi Arabia for energy talks.
Macron and Biden were overheard talking about energy supplies from the Middle East at a G7 summit at the end of June in Germany.
Macron told Biden that he had spoken to Sheikh Mohammed who had said he was at his “maximum” in terms of oil production, but that the Saudis had some spare capacity.
After his lunch with Macron, Sheikh Mohamed is set to be guest of honour at a dinner at the former royal palace in Versailles outside Paris.
Sheikh Mohamed was 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 national anthems of France and the UAE were performed by a military band, and Sheikh Mohamed and Minister Lecornu inspected the Guard of Honour. The UAE president then paid a visit to the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte situated within the Dôme des Invalides.
Following the reception, Sheikh Mohamed visited the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the President of the French Republic, and met President Emmanuel Macron for a private lunch.
During this meeting, the two leaders explored opportunities for bilateral collaboration to address substantial challenges facing our world today, including those in the areas of climate change, energy, and economic sustainability.
In the evening, President Macron will receive His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed for a state dinner at the Grand Trianon, situated within the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.
Sheikh Mohamed will meet several French officials during his two-day visit, including Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne; President of the Senate Gérard Larcher; and President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet.
The UAE has maintained and strengthened its relationship with France through decades of action-driven, bilateral partnerships across climate change, sustainable technology, space exploration, cultural exchange, traditional energy, and regional security.
The UAE President landed in Paris on Sunday, on his first overseas state visit and with energy and transport deals on the agenda.
The UAE president’s visit comes after Joe Biden’s first Middle East tour as president, including a visit to Saudi Arabia at a time when Western powers remain desperate for both Riyadh and the UAE to increase oil output to tame elevated energy prices stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A key facet of the trip is likely to be the unveiling of “guarantees given by the UAE on quantities of hydrocarbon supplies to France”, a presidential advisor at the Elysee told AFP, referring to diesel supplies.
Dominated by hydrocarbons, UAE exports to France in 2019 reached 1.5 billion euros, much of it refined petroleum products, but the Emirates does not currently supply diesel to the country.
I was pleased to arrive in France, a close strategic ally of the UAE, and meet my friend President Emmanuel Macron. Our countries enjoy longstanding partnerships across many fields. We look forward to further collaborations and strengthening ties towards a prosperous future. pic.twitter.com/6V99L8CCF2
— Ù…Øمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 18, 2022
France is seeking “to diversify its sources of supply in the context of the conflict in Ukraine,” the Elysee source added.
MOUs and contracts are also expected to be signed in the transport and waste treatment sectors during the three-day visit.
Relations between the two countries have grown considerably in recent years. The UAE is home to the only foreign branch of the Louvre museum, and in December it signed a record 14-billion-euro contract for 80 Rafale warplanes.
The UAE is home to the largest French and Francophone expatriate community in the Gulf region.
Sheikh Mohamed took office in May following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa.
The visit to France “has of course a very symbolic dimension and illustrates… Macron and MBZ’s good personal relations,” said Anne Gadel, a member of the North Africa Middle East Observatory at the Fondation Jean Jaures in Paris.
“This trip will be marked by energy issues in a context where European countries are worried about growing inflation driven by high energy prices”, she added.
Both European powers and the US have sought to press Gulf countries into upping oil output.
In opting for France — rather than the US — as his first foreign destination as president, the UAE’s Sheikh Mohamed could be sending “a signal… to the US… meaning: we are not in a hurry to respond to the US’ demands at all costs,” Gadel said.
The UAE has been a strategic partner to Washington for decades, but has in recent months asserted its independence, abstaining from a February UN Security Council vote on a US-Albanian draft resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday, Biden invited Mohamed bin Zayed to visit the United States.
(With AFP inputs)