French P.M. Manuel Valls announced that 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in contracts had been signed – an amount roughly equal the two countries’ bilateral trade volume this year.
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Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius co-chair Saudi French Permanent Coordination Committee meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.
However, a statement from his office suggested most of the agreements had yet to be sealed.
The report said these deals include the establishment of a Saudi investment fund worth 2.3 billion dollars, a maritime research center and a industrial complex in France.
RIYADH/PARIS October 13 Saudi Arabia has lifted a 15-year-old ban on French beef, opening one of the markets closed to France due to past cases of mad cow disease and offering potential support to a French meat industry hurt by low prices and a Russian embargo.
The deals cover energy, health, food, satellites and infrastructure, according to the prime minister’s office.
The two countries already enjoy strong economic ties, and this new slew of deals will bolster their relationship further.
France is the third-largest investor in Saudi Arabia, and Valls said he expects additional deals to be finalised.
France has been reinforcing links with the conservative Islamic kingdom – the Arab world’s largest economy – despite persistent criticism from rights activists of the kingdom’s record on civil liberties.
France’s prime minister and a delegation of top French officials have arrived in Saudi Arabia for two days of talks with senior royals, including King Salman. The premier is on a regional tour which earlier took him to Jordan and Egypt.
Valls, meanwhile, also met Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company – which owns or manages several iconic landmarks in France, including The Four Seasons Hotel George V and the Le Royal Monceau Hotel.
Both France and Saudi belong to the US-led coalition that has bombed ISIS which has also claimed responsiblity for attacks in the kingdom this year.
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“I call it not crisis but opportunity”, Abdulrahman al-Zamil told AFP on the sidelines of the 2nd Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum.
