UAE-France Strategic Dialogue: Key Outcomes From The 17th Session In Paris

The UAE and France recently held the 17th session of their Strategic Dialogue in Paris, reflecting a deep-rooted partnership. This collaboration is guided by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and French President Emmanuel Macron. The dialogue, co-chaired by Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak and Anne-Marie Descôtes, focused on enhancing cooperation across six key areas: economy, education, culture, space, nuclear energy, and health.

Both nations have enjoyed over 50 years of strong ties marked by mutual trust and significant projects like the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The dialogue aimed to strengthen this relationship further by exploring new initiatives in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence. The discussions also included reviewing ongoing strategic investment partnerships and projects in various sectors.

The UAE and France are committed to expanding their economic relationship. They discussed major Emirati investments announced at the Choose France Summit to boost AI collaboration. Both sides reviewed strategic bilateral investment partnerships signed in December 2021, covering sectors like transportation, technology, and energy. They also expressed intent to negotiate a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.

Education remains a shared priority for both countries. They agreed to expand the French school network and consider introducing French as a third language in UAE public schools from primary level. The development of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi was praised, with plans to renew its agreement in 2026. New educational initiatives include Rubika’s video game design programme and collaborations between École Polytechnique and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi stands as a symbol of cultural partnership between the two nations. Both parties expressed interest in further cooperation on the museum project. Discussions also covered restoring the Grand Trianon in Versailles. In space exploration, they aim to broaden cooperation, particularly in human spaceflight, by establishing joint projects and a French-Emirati Space Hub.

Nuclear energy cooperation remains strong between the UAE and France. They acknowledged ongoing collaborations with institutions like Électricité de France and CEA. Both sides are committed to supporting initiatives like Tripling Nuclear Energy while exploring advanced reactor technologies and sustainable hydrogen production opportunities.

Healthcare Collaboration

In healthcare, discussions focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation through academic collaborations and international patient care facilitation. Opportunities in advanced fields such as AI training and genomics were explored to enhance healthcare systems in both countries. Collaborations with international partners like the OECD were also discussed.

A Political Consultations Memorandum of Understanding was signed during this year's dialogue session. This MoU establishes a recurring framework for high-level political dialogue between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its French counterpart. It reflects both nations' commitment to institutionalising political coordination at top levels.

Commitment to Peace and Stability

The dialogue included discussions on regional peace, stability, security issues aligned with international law principles. Both parties emphasised finding just solutions for regional crises while reinforcing their commitment towards global governance priorities through multilateral cooperation efforts.

Attendees from the UAE included Dr Anwar Gargash; Ahmed Al Sayegh; Lana Nusseibeh; Sara Musallam; Saood Al Hosani; Hamad Al Kaabi; Dr Rashed Al Suwaidi; Mohsen Al Awadhi among others representing priority sectors from both countries' delegations.

The conclusion of this session highlighted an unwavering commitment from both sides towards deepening their longstanding strategic partnership further into future endeavours together across various domains discussed during these dialogues held annually since inception decades ago now continuing forward positively impacting bilateral relations overall significantly benefiting all involved stakeholders equally well beyond borders globally too ultimately achieving common goals successfully collaboratively always moving ahead progressively unitedly stronger than ever before indeed truly remarkable indeed!

With inputs from WAM