“We have always been a reliable partner to each other (…) and we want to consolidate these investments and partnerships,” he said during a Franco-Saudi business forum on the second day of his state visit to Saudi Arabia. French companies are ready to support the Vision 2030 program of opening and diversification of the kingdom, particularly in renewable energies and artificial intelligence, he insisted.
Several contracts have been signed in this regard, notably by EDF for the construction of solar power plants and by Veolia and Suez for waste treatment. Saudi oil giant Aramco has also signed memorandums of understanding with start-ups Pasqal on quantum research and Mistral AI in artificial intelligence.
“Do more”. The French president also invited Saudi investors to “do more in France”, judging that there was a large margin in this area. “France is not only a market of 68 million inhabitants, (…) it is an entry point for the European market and for (that of) the French-speaking world,” he underlined. The head of state made no allusion to the political situation in France, where the government is about to be overthrown over the budget and where uncertainty is growing over the country's financial commitments.
Arriving Monday evening in Riyadh, Emmanuel Macron signed with the crown prince and de facto leader of the country Mohammed bin Salman a strategic partnership intended to strengthen cooperation in all directions, from defense to the economy of the future. The two leaders also “agreed to make every effort to contribute to de-escalation” in the Middle East, according to the Elysée. They notably called for the election of a president in Lebanon – of which the country has been deprived for more than two years – after the entry into force of a truce on November 27 between Israel and the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah.
The French Head of State was accompanied by around fifty bosses of large French groups (Total, EDF, Veolia, etc.) and start-ups emblematic of the economy of the future. After the success of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, he offered France's expertise for the major events which will be hosted in Arabia, including the Universal Expo in 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, and which aim to modernize the image of the country.
Cultural cooperation. Saudi Arabia has committed to contributing 50 million euros to the renovation of the Center Pompidou in Paris, in exchange for cultural cooperation agreements, AFP learned from the French Ministry of Culture. France is also a privileged partner in the development of the archaeological heritage of Al-Ula, near Medina (north-west), which the kingdom intends to make a flagship tourist site in the Middle East and where the president will end his visit Wednesday.
MBS, once a pariah after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, has since returned to the center of the game on the international scene, exchanging with Beijing as well as with Moscow and on the verge of finding a strong ally in the person of Donald Trump in Washington. Emmanuel Macron, one of the first to visit him when he was still ostracized, also hopes to strengthen his relationship with him. The two leaders will also meet for a one-on-one dinner on Tuesday.
Human rights nevertheless remain a black point for the young leader, between repression of dissidents and executions. Four new people were executed on Tuesday, bringing the number of executions to 303 since the start of the year, an all-time high. France, strong in the “excellence of its relationship” with the Kingdom, regularly addresses these subjects with its interlocutors, assures the Elysée, while NGOs call for more mobilization in the matter. The French president, who also wishes to involve Arabia in its commitments on major global issues, will also co-chair a summit dedicated to sustainable water management, the One Water Summit, on the sidelines of COP16 desertification, at the end of afternoon in Riyadh.
Valérie LEROUX
© Agence France-Presse
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