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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| France to station forces in Gulf | France to station forces in Gulf |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| France and the UAE have signed a deal allowing France to set up a permanent military base, the first in the Gulf for a Western power other than the US. | |
| The deal allows for the stationing of up to 500 permanent military personnel in the UAE's largest emirate Abu Dhabi. | |
| The two countries also signed a deal to develop peaceful nuclear energy during a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy. | |
| The agreement on nuclear energy is the latest in a series of similar deals between France and Arab countries. | |
| The Emirates' WAM news agency said that an agreement would "boost relations between the two friendly countries through military cooperation". | |
| The agreement was inked by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan and French Defence Minister Herve Morin, WAM said. | |
| Further details about the agreement were not immediately available. | |
| Correspondents say the base will give France new ability to project its forces into a strategic oil-producing region. | |
| The Gulf lives with chronic tension between the six Sunni Arab-led states on the Arabian peninsula, all strong US allies, on the one hand and America's arch-foe Iran, which is Shia Muslim. | |
| The US has a string of military bases in Gulf countries, including several major army, naval and air force installations with thousands of personnel. |