ABU DHABI, May 21 (Reuters) - France is open to the

United Arab Emirates investing in its nuclear power and

artificial intelligence industries, its finance minister said on

Tuesday, ahead of signing a strategic partnership with the Gulf

state on AI.

The Gulf state has emerged as a major investor in artificial

intelligence while sources have told Reuters that oil rich Abu

Dhabi wants to invest in Europe's nuclear power industry.

French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire told reporters that

France would welcome Emirati investments into its nuclear

industry such as in nuclear fuel specialist Orano, which the

government majority owns.

"We are open to that kind of cooperation," he said in Abu

Dhabi's financial district ahead of signing the partnership,

adding that he would discuss it in meetings with UAE officials.

Le Maire was due to meet Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman

of state Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp and managing director of

Abu Dhabi government-controlled fund Mubadala. He was also to

meet with Sultan Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced

technology and chief executive of state oil firm Adnoc.

France is providing tens of billions of euros for

state-controlled energy provider EDF to build six new reactors.

Emirates Nuclear Energy is interested in building up a

portfolio of minority investments in European nuclear power

infrastructure, sources previously said.

The Gulf state has since 2021 operated its own nuclear power

plant, which was built by South Korea, and sources have said

Abu Dhabi is planning to soon tender for four new reactors.

Le Maire said France would be willing to provide assistance

if UAE expanded its nuclear infrastructure.

France also would welcome Emirati investments in artificial

intelligence, he said, adding that Paris wanted to work closely

with Abu Dhabi on semiconductors and computer chip capabilities.

Abu Dhabi state-controlled fund Mubadala is the majority

shareholder in chipmaker GlobalFoundaries, which is building a

semiconductor facility in France with STMicroelectronics

.

Le Maire said France and the UAE could jointly invest in

cloud computing and data processing and that the strategic

partnership would see more scientists and researchers at the Abu

Dhabi campus of the Paris Sorbonne.

UAE investments in AI drew scrutiny from the United States

over the Gulf state's ties with China and concerns sophisticated

American technology and capabilities could be acquired by

Chinese companies partnering with the UAE.

However, the UAE this year agreed with the United States to

limit its technology cooperation with China in exchange for

better access to American technology and capabilities.

Le Maire said France's partnership with the UAE would be

based on the idea of sovereignty, meaning that key technologies

and the skills must remain with those nations that develop it.