The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has inaugurated the first-ever French military base at Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The base is expected to provide a support base to France in its Middle East mission. At this occasion, hope has been expressed that this would also facilitate the updating the defence accord between the two signed in 1995. During the inaugural ceremony the French President said that “This region is strategic for the world balance” and “France is ready to shoulder its responsibility to ensure stability in the region”. This new development shows that the GCC countries are now in mood to diversify their defence partners, besides the US1.

• 1. “France opens first ever Middle Eastern military base in UAE”, May 29, 2009 on http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw090529_2_n.shtml