Trade between the UAE and France reached €7 billion ($7.6 billion) last year and is expected to increase this year amid the deepening of investment and trade ties between the two countries, France’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness said on Tuesday.
The European economy aims to boost its partnership in sectors, including renewable energy, mobility, health, technology and artificial intelligence, Franck Riester told The National in an interview on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation’s 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi.
“Our two countries are linked by a very strong relationship … and that has already many results, real results and benefits,” said Mr Riester.
“It's €7 billion of trade exchange between our two countries and many investments … we have 600 subsidiaries of French companies here in the country, and we really want to go further to tackle issues of the future, together with the country, either in trade exchanges or in investments – investments in the country, from France and from the country to France.”
Last week, the UAE and France held a high-level business council meeting in Paris amid efforts to strengthen their trade and investment ties, according to a Wam report.
The meeting was co-chaired by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, and Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and chief executive of TotalEnergies, in the presence of France’s Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire.
The two sides also signed a preliminary agreement to establish the UAE-France Bilateral Climate Investment Platform, to help French and Emirati investors boost investments in clean energy projects, with a particular focus on advancing the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries.
The platform includes Adnoc and Masdar as the anchor parents from the UAE side and TotalEnergies, Bpifrance and CMA-CGM from the French side.
“We have decided to build an even stronger business relationship which gathers leaders, political leaders and business actors, companies and entrepreneurs,” Mr Riester said.
He said the idea was to enable investment by individuals or companies and said they had high hopes that the platform would help the two sides “create value together”.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which was announced during the G20 summit in New Delhi last year, would “mobilise all the way to increase trade and increase business in a fair way, in a respectful way”, according to Mr Riester.
“We think this corridor could be one of the ways to go further in this direction,” he said.
The corridor consists of several countries in the Middle East including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, as well as European partners such as France, Italy and Germany, and India and the US.
The project will be made up of the east corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf and the northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe.
The cross-border transit corridors are expected to reduce shipping costs across the network and support trade in goods and services to, from and between the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and Europe.
France is committed to protecting maritime routes to support the growth of trade amid continued attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea, Mr Riester said.
“We are really committed in the European mission here in the Red Sea, to protect maritime transport routes. That is very key for trade in the region, specifically for the United Arab Emirates, but also for the rest of the world and specifically Europe,” he said.
He also expressed hope that the outcomes at the ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi will be at the same level as that of the previous ministerial conference in Geneva, where it was resolved to “reform the WTO specifically when it comes to the dispute settlement issue, to go further in the negotiations for fisheries”.
“We want to maintain a moratorium on e-commerce and it is very crucial, and we want to tackle different issues that are very important for the future, for instance, industrial policies,” Mr Riester said.
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
