Relationship dossier
France
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
France and the UAE sustain close strategic and defense ties, including a French military presence and major aircraft sales.
France toward United Arab Emirates
+65France has maintained a military installation in Abu Dhabi under bilateral arrangements and has pursued defense cooperation and major arms sales with the UAE, including the 2021 agreement to supply Rafale aircraft.
United Arab Emirates toward France
+65The UAE has hosted a French military installation in Abu Dhabi under bilateral arrangements and agreed in 2021 to purchase 80 French Rafale aircraft, reflecting substantial defense cooperation with France.
Overall relationship
+65The relationship is underpinned by strategic and defense cooperation, including France's military presence in Abu Dhabi and the UAE's major purchase of French combat aircraft. These durable ties support a close partnership, although concerns about human rights and arms transfers remain part of the wider policy context.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and the United Arab Emirates maintain a close strategic and defense relationship. France operates a military installation in Abu Dhabi under bilateral arrangements, and the two governments have developed defense cooperation and major arms ties. In 2021, the UAE agreed to purchase 80 French Rafale aircraft. These substantial ties coexist with broader policy differences, including concerns raised in France and Europe about human rights and arms transfers.
Areas of tension
- Human-rights concerns and the implications of arms transfers have prompted scrutiny in France and Europe.
Key developments
A French military installation opened in Abu Dhabi under bilateral arrangements.
The UAE agreed to purchase 80 French Rafale aircraft.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral defense cooperation beyond major publicly known arrangements are unclear.
- The extent to which human-rights concerns affect bilateral policy is uncertain.