France signs an inter-governmental defence agreement with the United Arab Emirates on a Gulf tour

21 October 2026

President Emmanuel Macron used a three-day tour of the Gulf and the Middle East to tie energy supply to defence sales. Travelling from 19 to 21 October 2026, he visited Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. With the Emirates, France signed an inter-governmental agreement to consolidate the defence relationship, together with accords on a common strategy for a fifth-generation Rafale, and secured about 100,000 additional tonnes of diesel a month; a further 100,000 tonnes was expected from Bahrain. Kuwait showed interest in storing diesel and jet fuel in France. With Qatar, France agreed on upgrading Rafale aircraft already in service, held talks on air-defence radars and systems, and obtained security of liquefied natural gas supply equivalent to 2 terawatt-hours a month through the winter; the infantry fighting vehicle was described as an important prospect rather than a concluded deal. The Elysee statement also records an offer to take part in rehabilitating and securing the pipeline site at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, a proposed guarantee mechanism for shipping in the region after transport costs rose tenfold, and domestic price measures from early November following a release of strategic stocks.