Sarkozy opens first French military base in Gulf region (Roundup)

May 26, 2009, 12:57 GMT

Paris/Abu Dhabi - French President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated Tuesday a French military base in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, France's first such installation in the Gulf region.

'We will be here for a long time. You can count on us,' Sarkozy told his hosts during the inauguration ceremony.

The base, which will house about 500 French navy, army and air force personnel, is located just across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, a highly sensitive location due to current tensions over Tehran's nuclear programme and its continuing diplomatic stand-off with Israel.

'If Iran attacks the Emirates, it also attacks France,' a diplomat told the daily Le Figaro. 'Given current events, it is no trifling matter to be able to benefit from an infrastructure capable of housing submarines and receiving nuclear aircraft carriers.'

But Sarkozy was careful to avoid antagonising the Iranians, saying, 'This permanent military presence targets no one. It represents France's long-term presence at the side of its friends.'

In addition to its geopolitical importance, the base will also play an important role in maritime security. Two French frigates will be operating from the base to safeguard trade and help fight piracy off the Somali coast.

In addition, as part of the installation, troops trained in urban combat will de stationed at the desert camp at Zayed Military City.

The Abu Dhabi military base is France's first such foreign undertaking in more than 50 years, although it has sent troops to Chad as part of an EU force, as well as other former African colonies.

The base will also serve French interests as a stopover for troops travelling to and from Afghanistan, where France has deployed some 2,800 soldiers to fight against Taliban.

Both Sarkozy and his hosts tried to avoid tying the installation of the base to France's attempts to sell dozens of Rafale fighter-jets.

According to French LCI television, Sarkozy spent the first evening of his two-day visit trying to convince UAE officials to buy some 60 Rafales to replace their aging Mirage jets, and he apparently made progress.

Built at a cost of nearly 40 billion euros by Dassault Aviation, which is owned by a close friend of Sarkozy's, the Rafale has so far not found any foreign buyers.

Following the inauguration of the military base, Sarkozy opened construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat, or 'Happiness Island.'

The Abu Dhabi Louvre, which will stand alongside a branch of Guggenheim and New York University, is a cornerstone of the city-state's bid to position itself as a hub for high culture and tourism.

However, human rights groups have faulted the Emirate for its treatment of the South Asian workers constructing the island.

In a report released last week, the New York-based pressure group Human Rights Watch concluded that while Abu Dhabi had taken 'some positive steps' to improve conditions for workers, thousands of workers faced 'severe exploitation and abuse.'