France’s Macron meets UAE’s ‘MBZ’ at start of Gulf tour

DUBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron met His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Friday at the start of a two-day Gulf tour with some lucrative deals set to be signed including several for Rafale fighter jets.

Read more: France’s Macron puts midnight deadline over fish row on hold

Macron was greeted at the leadership pavilion at Dubai’s Expo site for talks with Sheikh Mohamed, known as “MBZ”, after which they are expected to announce a series of contracts and agreements.

“I don’t want to reveal the Christmas present” before the meeting, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told journalists in the build-up to the talks in Dubai.

Macron arrived in the early hours of Friday for a brief Gulf tour where he will also visit Qatar, host of next year’s World Cup, before travelling to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The UAE, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on Thursday, is expected to order dozens of Rafale jets to replace its Mirage 2000 aircraft acquired in the late 1990s.

The Emirates is the fifth biggest customer for the French defence industry with 4.7 billion euros from 2011-2020, according to a parliamentary report.

Read more: Macron announces 30-billion-euro plan to re-industrialise France

Macron is accompanied by a large delegation in Dubai including Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Defence Minister Florence Parly.