President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy will open his country’s naval base in the UAE about 10 am on Tuesday at Zayed Port, in Abu Dhabi. This will be the major programme of Sarkozy’s short visit to the UAE which begins on Monday evening and concludes on Tuesday afternoon.

Described as the first French defence base in the Arabian Gulf, the unit will comprise about 500 personnel drawn mainly from the French Navy, according to the officials at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA). The naval base, dubbed ‘Peace Camp’ is likely to face the Strait of Hormuz, just across from Iran. The strait, which separates the UAE’s neighbours Iran and Oman, is vital as 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil is transported through it.

The base is a big step forward in France’s foreign policy, and through this it is demonstrating its commitment to cooperate with the UAE to enhance the security of the region, Riad Kahwaji, INEGMA Chief Executive Officer told Khaleej Times. France will be joining UK and the US among Western powers to have a permanent presence in the Gulf. The base is the first French base opened since the end of the colonial era.

It will also augment the security cover of the UAE, said Dr Theodore Karasik, the senior researcher at INEGMA. France and the UAE had signed a reciprocal defence accord in 1995, under which their armed forces chiefs meet once a year and their army troops conduct around 25 joint manoeuvres per year. The proposal to set up the military base was announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy on January 15 last year.

Sarkozy asserted in a recent interview to Diplomatie magazine that the new military presence underscored France’s desire “to participate fully in the stability of this region that is essential for the world’s equilibrium.” The move is widely seen as a sign of France’s tougher stance on Iran since Sarkozy took office in 2007. “We are deliberately taking a deterrent stance,” said an aide to Sarkozy. “If Iran were to attack, we would effectively be attacked also.”

The new Abu Dhabi base has drawn some criticism in French political circles, with centrist politician Francois Bayrou arguing that it raised the risk of France being unwillingly dragged into war. The French Defence Minister Herve Morin had reiterated his country’s resolve to go ahead with the move to set up the military base in the UAE, during International Defence Exhibition and Conference early this year. The Navies of the (UAE) and France will hold a high-level maritime security conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday to coincide with the inauguration of the French Naval base.

The conference will be held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the President of the French Republic. INEGMA has been commissioned by the UAE Navy to organise the conference which will take place at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Abu Dhabi. The representatives of Shaikh Khalifa and French President will address the opening session of the conference, according to INEGMA. Sarkozy will also lay foundation stone for of the Louvre Museum on Tuesday. France hopes UAE can be persuaded to sign on to a deal to replace its fleet of French Mirage 2000 combat planes with 60 new multi-role Rafale jet.