Saudi Arabia wants to seduce France by hanging up investments

Saudi Arabia intends to accelerate its trade partnerships with France in the coming years, according to its investment minister present in Paris on Monday, wanting to take advantage of the hexagonal appetite for foreign investment and a lull in international pressure on human rights.

“We hope that a good part has been financed by the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France,” he continued, in the presence of the French Minister of Foreign Trade, Olivier Becht.

Khaled al-Faleh listed the areas in which France has a role to play, from tourism to transport, including technology. Riyadh sent a delegation to the Vivatech forum on Friday. The aviation sector is also in the spotlight and “orders must be announced” at the Paris Air Show, he said.

Customer number 29 from France

Trade between Paris and Riyadh rose 74% last year to 10.7 billion euros year-on-year, boosted by French aircraft exports and French imports of petroleum products, the price of which rose sharply with the war in Ukraine, according to figures from the French Ministry. of the Economy.

Saudi Arabia was France’s 29th largest customer and 25th largest supplier last year, with both areas climbing six and seven places year-over-year.

At the same time, the country is in full charm operation in the capital, as the arrival of many leaders, including the Foreign Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane, who met the French President on Friday and will attend the forum on Thursday for a “new finance deal” aimed at finding climate finance.

Lobbying to restore a negative image

Ryad also intends to promote its candidacy for the 2030 World Expo, supported by Paris, and thus once and for all recover its image, still heavily tarnished by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

“It will necessarily take a bit of time,” Gérard Mestrallet, former CEO of the Engie energy group who has now become president of the French Agency for the development of Al-Ula, a Saudi tourist site, told AFP.

“There is a significant gap between reality, a country that is changing at great speed, and an image that, before the last five years, was not good,” added the French leader.