Saudi Arabia and France: An extraordinary bilateral relationship

PARIS: Any observer of Saudi Arabia will notice that a Western country is quietly becoming a privileged partner of the Kingdom. This Western country is France.

What if we are witnessing the construction of a new Arab-Western axis without really realizing it?

What was expected to be a fairly classical engagement by the French diplomatic establishment — as is often the case with countries of the Arab world — has turned out to be something more than that.

The visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Paris will be more than an opportunity to address cultural or artistic considerations. The delegation accompanying him is largely made up of leading economic players.

As an example, we can think of the hotel and tourism group Al-Hokair, whose Parisian agenda is full over the next several days and which has launched a charm offensive to attract investors and French institutional partners.

It must be said that with the launch of the Saudi Entertainment Academy, which aims to train Saudis wishing to work in the tourism sector, Al-Hokair already has privileged relations with the University of Nice (Universite de Nice) and the Academy of Paris (Academie de Paris), but also with many high-ranking private partners.

Topics of mutual interest will be discussed, particularly in the field of industry. The reindustrialization of France, dear to the president of Medef international, Frederic Sanchez, CEO of the industrial flagship Fives, is one of the subjects of Emmanuel Macron’s new five-year term.

Frederic Sanchez is very well placed to know the potential of Saudi Arabia, because the axis of development of Fives in the Kingdom is a strategic priority: The group has even expanded operations in Bahrain to start working with the Saudi market. It is therefore obvious that French and Saudi industrialists will talk to each other and do business this week, and this is not a coincidence.

Regarding trade and French know-how, we are also witnessing a resurgence of tricolor signs in the streets of Riyadh or Jeddah that we do not necessarily notice from Paris. Who knows, for example, that the first store of the brand La Vie Claire, specializing in organic products, has just been inaugurated in Riyadh and that it is only the first in a long series?

Again, this idyll is anything but a coincidence. Indeed, France contributes significantly to the training of managers in Saudi Arabia.

We know the involvement of ESSEC through the French Arabian Business School, which has enabled hundreds of Saudis to graduate. They are now necessary key players in this rapport.

ESSEC also made a successful tour of Saudi Arabia in April; many continuing education contracts are under discussion and should be completed quickly.

Saudi-French understanding goes much deeper than what is conceivable under the classical rules of diplomatic engagement

Arnaud Lacheret

The other world leader in management schools, HEC, is not to be outdone, with the launch of part of its executive MBA in connection with the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, via courses given in Riyadh.

These long-term actions are mutually beneficial and they partly explain the fact that Emmanuel Macron was one of the first Western leaders to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this year.

This week’s visit is much more than a return of favor for the crown prince’s hosting of Macron in 2021; it is the crystallization of negotiations that have been taking place for months between leading economic and cultural actors, and which have skilfully slipped under the media radar.

Everyone was surprised, on Dec. 4, 2021, by the extent of the partnership announcements communicated by the two leaders during their meeting. They were not known to be close on a personal level, and yet, this meeting made it possible to unveil the hundreds of Franco-Saudi projects that were only waiting for formalization.

We will, of course, talk a lot about AlUla, NEOM, culture and tourism during the next few days, but we will have to be much more attentive to what will happen more discreetly in the fields of energy, industry, water and sustainable development. The two countries seem to be living a partnership “honeymoon” that is all the more stronger because it is very discreet, and sheltered from controversy and outbursts.

There is no doubt that this week will be decisive because it may lift the veil on some of the important partnerships that the two countries will formalize.