An agreement to "boost relations between the two friendly countries through military cooperation" was inked by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan and French Defence Minister Herve Morin, it said.

WAM did not give details, but the French daily Le Monde had said it would provide for setting up a French naval base in Abu Dhabi, the first such French facility in the oil-rich Gulf region.

The other agreement "outlines a cooperation framework for the assessment and possible use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends."