Monday night saw French president Nicolas Sarkozy arriving in Abu Dhabi, at the commencement of a two-day visit, which would witness France opening its maiden military base in the Gulf region.

While speaking at a maritime security conference in the capital of the United Arab Emirates ahead of Sarkozy's arrival, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed that he expects the base dubbed 'sea peace camp, to help protect trade in the region and help combat piracy off the Somali coast.

Sources have confirmed that the base would be opened by President Sarkozy on Tuesday. The base will accommodate nearly 450 French troops just across the Strait of Homruz from Iran. The main focus of UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nayahan at Monday's conference was on Paris and Abu Dhabi's diplomatic and economic ties, noting France's 583-million Euro investments in the Emirates.

Furthermore, Sarkozy is also supposed to lay a stone in the foundation of a branch of the Louvre museum on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat, or 'Happiness' Island during his visit.