French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone on Saturday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the two leaders agreed to “strengthen their cooperation to meet the humanitarian needs” of Lebanon, according to an Elysee press release.
“The discussion focused in particular on Lebanon, the President of the Republic insisted on the need to elect a president as soon as possible, so that the program of essential structural reforms for the recovery of the country can be carried out”, indicates the presidency. French.
President Michel Aoun’s term expired on October 31 and the deeply divided parliament has already met five times without being able to choose a successor, while the country is mired in a deep economic crisis. Emmanuel Macron “agreed with the crown prince to continue and strengthen his cooperation to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Lebanon,” adds the Elysee.
Economic Mutual Aid
In addition, “the Head of State and the Crown Prince spoke of the threats that hang over the stability of the region” and “expressed their desire to strengthen the strategic association that unites the two countries.” Emmanuel Macron recalled “that Saudi Arabia could count on the support of France to guarantee its security.” Finally, the two leaders “expressed their desire to strengthen economic ties between their two countries, particularly in the field of energy.”
Emmanuel Macron flies this Sunday for the G20 summit in Bali. The French presidency did not specify whether he would later exchange with MBS, the powerful but controversial crown prince of the Saudi kingdom. The US president, Joe Biden, has ruled out meeting with him, after an OPEC+ decision favorable to Russia.
Source: BFM TV
