French military Gulf 2000 exercises in the Emirates

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson said the upcoming military Gulf 2000 Exercise is not the first for France in the region.

The Spokesperson said the exercise, organized in the United Arab Emirates and then in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, shows that France is committed to security and peace in the region and reflects its determination to contribute globally to maintaining balances and helping to strengthen regional stability.

The participation of French forces in the Gulf 2000 exercise falls under the bilateral cooperation established by the January 5, 1995 defense cooperation agreement. The exercise also reflects the strategic partnership built up between France and the United Arab Emirates. It gives tangible form to the excellent relations, as witness too the fact that a detachment from the Emirates was deployed with the French contingent in Albania during operation Humanitarian Trident and the presence at this very time of an Emirate battalion in Kosovo with the international force under French command.

The exercise is not directed against any particular country nor against any third party, the spokesperson said.