The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are to sell France the equivalent of 10 per cent of its diesel consumption in the coming weeks, Elysee sources have said.
The aim is to bring energy prices down in Europe, which have fuelled protests and public anger in France. “The greater the quantity, the lower the price. It’s quite simple,” an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said.
A large part of the deal was obtained by Mr Macron during a tour of the Gulf that started on Monday with visits to Kuwait and the UAE. He is also set travel to Bahrain and Qatar.
France previously obtained guarantees from Saudi Arabia to sell 95,000 tonnes of diesel in October and November, bringing the total to 190,000 tonnes over two months. In addition, the UAE and Bahrain are in the coming weeks expected to separately sell 100,000 tonnes of diesel to France for an unknown duration.
“These are political commitments obtained from countries in the region because they know us and they know we are reliable – because we have been there during every critical moment, notably by deploying air defence capabilities,” the adviser said.
Sales are to go through French energy company TotalEnergies, whose chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne, has accompanied Mr Macron on his Gulf tour.
UAE and France sign AI and tech deals
The UAE and France have signed deals in energy, artificial intelligence and advanced technology as the countries strengthen investment and economic ties.
The preliminary agreements were signed in the presence of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Mr Macron in the UAE capital. Three agreements focused on AI and advanced technology were signed with French start-up AMI Labs to strengthen research and technological co-operation and explore new applications across several fields, Abu Dhabi Media office reported.
The deals cover Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Abu Dhabi’s G42 and computing company Analog.
MBZUAE is to focus on strengthening co-operation with AMI Labs in AI research and development, while G42 aims to establish a framework for strategic co-operation in cloud computing infrastructure and AI models.
Analog’s deal with AMI Labs is related to exploring opportunities to integrate AI models into robotics and physical AI applications and opening new avenues for developing intelligent systems and expanding their use in industrial and technology sectors.
The UAE and France will also boost co-operation in the energy sector, with Adnoc Gas and Schneider Electric signing an initial pact to assess advanced technology and opportunities for operational improvements to help enhance efficiency and improve the performance of energy systems.
Adnoc Refining and Technip Energies also signed two contracts relating to a refining capacity enhancement project and a sustainable aviation fuel project.
“These agreements demonstrate both countries’ commitment to broadening economic and investment co-operation, strengthening integration between their industrial, technological and research capabilities, and opening new avenues for public-private partnerships to support the development of innovative and sustainable solutions in shared priority sectors,” Abu Dhabi Media office said.