Why Did France Welcome the Appointment of al-Mazrouei as Head of the UAE Armed Forces?

Paris is keen to communicate with the new central figures in the administration of Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed. French officials regularly visit the Gulf state to make progress in politics in Abu Dhabi.

France considers the UAE one of the most important markets in the Middle East for weapons export and to achieve gains from security, cyber, and intelligence cooperation. There has always been a great rapprochement between French President Emmanuel Macron and bin Zayed at various stages.

On January 3, 2023, Mohammed bin Zayed decided to appoint Lieutenant General Engineer Issa Saif Mohammed al-Mazrouei as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, with the rank of minister. He also issued another decree appointing Hamad Mohammed Thani al-Rumaithi as his advisor in military affairs, with the rank of minister.

These appointments were widely welcomed by Macron for a number of reasons, the foremost of which was the agreement on new armament contracts.

 

A Window for New Opportunities

Intelligence Online spoke about this in a report issued on February 9, 2023.

The magazine said in light of the wide changes that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed is making in his administration, France is working to enhance its interests in the allied country.

The step of appointing Issa al-Mazrouei as Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces on January 3 to replace Hamad Thani al-Rumaithi, who was promoted to become the military affairs adviser to Mohammed bin Zayed, was very welcomed by France, according to the magazine.

The French administration has not overlooked these appointments, as it is keen not to miss any opportunity to prove its presence in the changing political circles in Abu Dhabi.

After these appointments, Paris hastily dispatched the General Delegate of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), Emmanuel Chiva, to Abu Dhabi on January 18 to meet with al-Mazrouei and the UAE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, Mattar Salem al-Dhaheri.

Apart from the cordial diplomatic exchanges between the two countries, which have strong defense ties, Chiva took the opportunity to discuss Issa al-Mazrouei, according to the magazine.

Paris wants to speed up the process of modernizing Nexter’s Leclerc tanks and hopes to sell its anti-landmine equipment to Abu Dhabi.

Therefore, Paris accepted the presence of al-Mazrouei as the Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces due to the cooperation and rapprochement he showed with the French.

 

Important Market

Paris gives the Abu Dhabi Global Market great importance in the French-Emirati relationship, especially in the supply of weapons.

This was clearly demonstrated by the presence of the Director of the French Treasury, Emmanuel Moulin, accompanied by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, the first French-Emirati business council held in the Gulf country during the presidency of Issa al-Mazrouei, on January 23, 2023, which took place under the auspices of Mohammed bin Zayed.

Issa Saif Mohammed al-Mazrouei, who has become in charge of the military rapprochement with France, is one of the personalities close to Mohammed bin Zayed, and he always appears next to him in official forums.

He is a military engineer who used to hold the position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and held a number of leadership positions and military ranks in the UAE army until he reached the position of Chief of Staff.

Al-Mazrouei was responsible for the seventh International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) from January 20 to 24, 2023, held under bin Zayed’s auspices in Abu Dhabi.

The two exhibitions were preceded by the International Defense Conference, which was held at the ADNOC Business Center under the supervision of the UAE Ministry of Defense and the care of al-Mazrouei, who was keen to show the UAE’s development in defense technologies.

The major French defense companies have not been absent from that forum since its first year. On February 23, 2023, the Tawazun Council, which is the government agency that works closely with the Ministry of Defense to enhance purchasing value, announced the signing of 9 deals for the Ministry with a total value of 5.7 billion dirhams during the IDEX exhibition.

On top of these deals, Majid al-Jabri, the spokesperson for the Tawazun Council, said that a contract was signed with the French company Thales Emarat to purchase radars and provide technical support and training services for the fire management system at a value of 6 million dirhams.

 

Relationship Dimensions

The Emirati Chief of Staff, Issa al-Mazrouei, is considered one of the tools of Mohammed bin Zayed’s rule, aimed at advanced regional and international aspirations and his establishment of alliances with certain powers, especially France under the leadership of Emmanuel Macron.

This was evident on September 15, 2021, when he received him in France to discuss the strategic and military partnership between the two countries and all regional issues during a business dinner at the Fontainebleau Palace, south of Paris.

At that time, the way of receiving and meeting prompted the French media to question the secret of the relationship between the Emirates and France and Macron’s interest in bin Zayed in particular.

Months later, specifically on December 6, 2021, international human rights organizations criticized Macron’s conclusion of military deals with bin Zayed, who is involved in armed conflicts in several countries in the region, and his suspected participation in human rights violations.

At the head of international human rights organizations is Human Rights Watch, which stated that the weapons Paris supplies to Abu Dhabi are used in illegal attacks and war crimes in Yemen and Libya conflicts. The UAE has been accused of involvement through local agents within these countries.

The human rights organization confirmed that France is moving forward with these sales despite the fact that the UAE plays a leading role in the brutal military operations led by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

 

Thousands of Bombs

On December 4, 2021, investigative website DISCLOSE stated that Paris handed over tens of thousands of bombs to the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, despite knowing that they would be used in killing Yemenis.

The website published secret defense documents revealing the French government’s delivery of about 150,000 missiles to the UAE, its Gulf ally.

Based on the Emirati–French engagement, bin Zayed was at the head of those regimes that supported Macron in October 2020.

He announced his support for the president and the economy in France in response to the campaign of the Islamic world to boycott Paris economically, against the background of the abuse against Islam, Muslims, and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Therefore, it was not surprising what Emmanuel Macron said about bin Zayed on September 16, 2021, and it was reported by Le Point.

The newspaper pointed out that the French president considers Mohammed bin Zayed a model for the modern Arab ruler, ignoring the number of violations he committed in human rights files inside his country or the regional wars in Yemen and Libya.

On July 18, 2022, France and the UAE signed a global strategic partnership agreement on cooperation in the field of energy, the day after bin Zayed’s arrival in Paris on his first foreign visit to Europe since assuming the presidency of his country.

Macron awarded bin Zayed the Grand Cross of the National Legion of Honor, while the Emirati president awarded the French president the Order of Zayed, which is the highest civilian award in the Emirates presented to presidents and kings.