Macron seals Rafale F5 jet pact and AI deals with UAE in Abu Dhabi

Emmanuel Macron’s Abu Dhabi visit produced a Strategic Defence Partnership Framework and an intergovernmental agreement on the Dassault Rafale F5 fighter standard, witnessed by the French president and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, WAM reported on Tuesday.

The agreements also set technical and financial specifications for industrial co-operation on the future of combat aviation, with a separate pact aimed at defence strategic autonomy and reducing dependence on third countries, The National reported. AFP said France and the UAE would share costs for the F5 standard, without specifying either country’s contribution or a payment schedule, according to EconoTimes.

Beyond defence, France’s AI start-up AMI Labs signed three agreements with UAE entities — G42, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and Analog — covering AI research, cloud infrastructure and robotics. Adnoc Gas and Schneider Electric signed an initial pact on energy systems, while Adnoc Refining and Technip Energies signed two contracts on refining capacity and sustainable aviation fuel.

The announcements revive co-operation on the F5 programme after funding talks collapsed late last year, when Abu Dhabi was reportedly prepared to contribute up to €3.5 billion of the roughly €5 billion bill. The UAE’s 2021 order of 80 Rafales and 12 helicopters was worth €16.6 billion — a separate package, not the new F5 arrangement.

Macron toured an Edge Group defence site during the visit before continuing to Bahrain and Qatar; the diesel supplies he secured on the tour were covered in Flip News’ earlier report.

Sources: The National · WAM via Emirates247 · Daily Sabah · EconoTimes, citing AFP