In 2008 France signed an agreement with the UAE to set up its first permanent military base in Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest and largest of the nation’s seven emirates.
“It will be the first such French base in the Gulf and it will face the Strait of Hormuz,” a French presidential source said in January 2008.
The strategic Strait of Hormuz, which separates the UAE’s neighbors Iran and Oman, is a vital conduit through which an estimated 40 percent of the world’s crude oil passes.
French officials said last year that the base will eventually host 400-500 French army, navy and air force personnel.
France is a leading military supplier to the UAE, and the two countries are linked by a 1995 defense pact.
