The United Arab Emirates and France officially signed a new Defense Cooperation Agreement on Tuesday aimed at advancing military and strategic collaboration between the two nations.
The pact was formalized in Paris during an official visit by UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs Mohamed bin Mubarak bin Fadhel Al Mazrouei and French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin. The agreement was signed just 48 hours after France publicly condemned a drone strike targeting the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, with Paris explicitly reaffirming its commitment to contributing directly to the defense of Emirati territorial sovereignty.
The security development follows a sharp increase in regional threats. Since the outbreak of direct military conflict between Western-backed forces and Iran on February 28, the UAE defense ministry confirmed it has intercepted more than 2,000 drones and 550 ballistic missiles launched from Iranian positions.
UAE’s long-standing regional security architecture is undergoing significant changes, marked by a freeze in relations with neighboring Saudi Arabia. Following a January offensive that neutralized the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen, Abu Dhabi completely evacuated its military footprint from Yemeni soil, leaving the state to seek independent bilateral security arrangements.
The newly signed pact builds on a decades-long security relationship between Paris and Abu Dhabi. France and the UAE signed their first formal mutual defense pact in 1995, which led to the 2009 opening of the Camp de la Paix in Abu Dhabi—France’s first permanent military base in the Persian Gulf.
The alliance has also been anchored by major hardware procurement. In 1998, the UAE signed a landmark deal for 63 French Mirage 2000-9 jets, followed in December 2021 by a historic $19 billion contract for 80 Dassault Rafale F4 fighter jets.
While the partnership faced recent industrial strain after Abu Dhabi withdrew from co-funding France’s €5.7 billion Rafale F5 program over technology-sharing disputes, current operational integration has continued. French Rafale jets operating out of Al Dhafra Air Base are conducting daily intercept missions to defend Emirati airspace. The signing of this agreement coincides with the deployment of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is currently approaching the Strait of Hormuz to secure regional maritime corridors.
