RIYADH, 17 March 2005 — France is keen in developing economic relations with the Kingdom. “We are content with the strong political ties with the Kingdom but there could be more improvements in the field of economic relations between the two countries,” the leader of the visiting team of French senators, Serge Vincon who met Crown Prince Abdullah Tuesday told Arab News.
Last year, French imports from the Kingdom stood at 2.9 billion euros, while its exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at 1.3 billion during the same period. Saudi Arabia remained the third largest oil supplier of France. Currently, France operates 65 joint ventures in the Kingdom including the latest additions of BNP Paribas and the AGEF Insurance Company to its network.
Vincon recalled that the Saudi French Business Council had met twice in April and December last year and hoped that these frequent meetings would bring the two countries closer in the field of trade.
“There are plenty of areas that the two countries could do well and visits of this nature will help identify new areas.”
He said his talks with the crown prince focused on the current issues in Palestine, Israel, Iraq, and Lebanon. “It was a fantastic audience, the crown prince showed his interests and concerns on several problems in the region,” he added. “The two countries see eye to eye with each other on several international and regional problems.” Besides holding discussions with the members of the Shoura Council, the senators also met with Prince Khaled ibn Sultan ibn Abdulaziz, the assistant minister of defense and aviation and inspector general for military Affairs and the Riyadh Governor Prince Salman yesterday.
“This year, the French Senate has chosen Saudi Arabia for this visit in recognition of its importance to France,” the new French ambassador, Charles-Henri D’Aragon said, expressing hope that this visit would further boost the strong bilateral relations.
