UAE President tweets in French, calls Macron a friend

Sheikh Mohamed arrived in France on Monday for his first state visit since assuming office

Sahim Salim

Published: Mon 18 Jul 2022, 5:47 PM

Last updated: Mon 18 Jul 2022, 10:48 PM

The UAE President has called France “a close strategic ally” and highlighted the “longstanding partnerships across many fields” the two countries share as he landed in the country on Monday. The President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in France for his first state visit since assuming office.

Tweeting in French, Arabic and English, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said he was pleased to meet “my friend President Emmanuel Macron”.

Heureux d’être en France, pays ami et allié stratégique des EAU, et de voir mon ami le Président Emmanuel Macron. Nos pays entretiennent un partenariat de longue date dans de nombreux domaines. Nous nous réjouissons de renforcer notre collaboration pour un avenir prospère. pic.twitter.com/fHp7cWoYur
— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 18, 2022

“We look forward to further collaborations and strengthening ties towards a prosperous future,” he tweeted.

The UAE President was welcomed with a formal reception ceremony in Paris. He was received at the Army Museum in Les Invalides by Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, accompanied by members of the French Republican Guard.

Following this, Sheikh Mohamed travelled to the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the President of the French Republic, to meet President Macron for a private lunch.

In the evening, President Macron will receive Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed for a state dinner at the Grand Trianon, situated within the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

Sheikh Mohamed will meet several French officials during the two-day visit, including Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne; President of the Senate Gérard Larcher; and President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet.

The UAE has maintained and strengthened its relationship with France through decades of action-driven, bilateral partnerships across climate change, sustainable technology, space exploration, cultural exchange, traditional energy, and regional security.

ALSO READ: