Newly appointed Ambassador of France to the UAE, H.E. Xavier Chatel sends a message to our Emirati friends (1st December, 2020)
Read the full text of the message :
"Dear Emirati Friends,
My name is Xavier Chatel and I have the great privilege of having been appointed as the new French Ambassador to the UAE.
It is a special honour, and I cannot overstate the importance of your country to France. From culture to space, business, science, education, defence, energy, the strength of our partnership is remarkable – and so is the confidence between our leaders.
As I take up my new position, I will make it my duty to take this bond even further. Our relationship is a choice of the heart and a choice of the mind. It started right from the beginning, 50 years ago, and has grown spectacularly eversince. Today, our two countries see eye to eye on just about every issue. Our strengths are complementary. And I believe there is no limit to what we can achieve when we team up together.
Two words about me : I have worked in the private sector, then as a diplomat specializing on Middle Eastern and strategic issues. I have come several times to the UAE: enough to be fascinated, and yet impatient to know more. I count on you to help me discover your beautiful country.
Looking to the future : these are difficult times, but there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The Covid will recede. We will move freely again. We will thrive again. Expo 2020 will be a tremendous moment. And the partnership between our countries will grow even stronger, as we tackle these challenges together.
And when we celebrate your nation’s 50th anniversary, we will be able to say : we overcame this together. Llet us grow this treasured friendship for many more years, as befits the hearts and the minds of our two peoples."