Nonno
Habari Na Mijeldi
"Nicolas Sarkozy today opened France's first permanent military base in the Gulf region, in a symbolic move to show his new tough line on Iran and to compete with Britain and the US for military and commercial influence in the area.
The Abu Dhabi base in the United Arab Emirates is the first foreign military installation built by France for 50 years and its first ever base outside French or African soil. It is a landmark in the long-running repositioning of French foreign policy – recently accelerated by Sarkozy – to shift geopolitical concerns away from an emphasis on Africa and further east towards the Arab world.
It is the first time that France has installed a military operation in a country where it has never been colonial master. The base, dubbed Peace Camp, was built in record time – less than 18 months. Its 500 troops and major naval and air operations will safeguard shipping lanes and reinforce the fight against piracy off the Somalian coast, but primarily send a warning message to Iran, which Sarkozy has taken a new tough stance over in recent years, heightened by concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme."
"Sarkozy's visit to the Emirates combined his trademark double role as statesman and salesman. Flanked by ministers and business leaders, he was also seeking to raise France's commercial profile in the Emirates, the world's third-largest oil exporter, and win key defence contracts and nuclear energy deals. The UAE is already a faithful buyer of French arms – now Sarkozy is pressuring its leadership to sign a €6bn to €8bn deal to purchase French Rafale fighter jets, which are yet to find a foreign buyer anywhere in the world. He also wants to secure French contracts for two major civil nuclear reactors in the region. But in both cases deals are far from being signed and there is heavy competition from the US."
More at: France opens military base in UAE despite Iranian concerns | World news | guardian.co.uk
The Abu Dhabi base in the United Arab Emirates is the first foreign military installation built by France for 50 years and its first ever base outside French or African soil. It is a landmark in the long-running repositioning of French foreign policy – recently accelerated by Sarkozy – to shift geopolitical concerns away from an emphasis on Africa and further east towards the Arab world.
It is the first time that France has installed a military operation in a country where it has never been colonial master. The base, dubbed Peace Camp, was built in record time – less than 18 months. Its 500 troops and major naval and air operations will safeguard shipping lanes and reinforce the fight against piracy off the Somalian coast, but primarily send a warning message to Iran, which Sarkozy has taken a new tough stance over in recent years, heightened by concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme."
"Sarkozy's visit to the Emirates combined his trademark double role as statesman and salesman. Flanked by ministers and business leaders, he was also seeking to raise France's commercial profile in the Emirates, the world's third-largest oil exporter, and win key defence contracts and nuclear energy deals. The UAE is already a faithful buyer of French arms – now Sarkozy is pressuring its leadership to sign a €6bn to €8bn deal to purchase French Rafale fighter jets, which are yet to find a foreign buyer anywhere in the world. He also wants to secure French contracts for two major civil nuclear reactors in the region. But in both cases deals are far from being signed and there is heavy competition from the US."
More at: France opens military base in UAE despite Iranian concerns | World news | guardian.co.uk