Saudi deputy crown prince to visit France to boost ties
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is due to visit France next week in an effort to reinforce the strategic partnership between Riyadh and Paris.
The French Embassy in Riyadh said in a Thursday statement that Salman, who is also the kingdom’s defense minister, will hold talks Monday with President Francois Hollande before co-hosting the third Saudi-French joint committee with Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault a day later.
Since mid-June, the Saudi prince has been in the United States, where he met with President Barack Obama and has held talks with major US corporations.
The 30-year-old prince, seen as the most powerful in Saudi Arabia after his father King Salman, has tried hard to introduce himself as the driving force for change in the conservative kingdom.
He has hammered out mega deals with Western powers over the past years and his upcoming trip to France is seen as an attempt to finalize the agreements reached with Paris over the past year.
Salman traveled to France last June after his father reached deals with Hollande worth 10 billion euros (USD 11 billion) in a range of sectors.
The French embassy said during the trip, the two sides will look at “new perspectives of cooperation in the framework of the National Transformation Program,” referring to Saudi Arabia’s wide-ranging Vision 2030 plan which the kingdom says is meant to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy.
“Major regional issues will also be touched upon,” the embassy said, without elaborating.
France has been a major supporter of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen, which began in March 2015. The bloody offensive has left some 10,000 people dead in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.
Known for its close relations with Saudi Arabia, France has moved over the past years to deepen cooperation with Riyadh, with reports in June 2015 suggesting that the two countries sealed military deals worth up to $12 billion for the delivery of modern weaponry to the Arab kingdom.
Saudi-backed coalition vows to counter UAE allies in Yemen
Pakistan’s Field Marshal Munir awarded Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz medal
Iran says expanding cooperation with China, Saudi Arabia in multiple fields
Muslim scholar decries silence on Israel's Gaza crimes as betrayal of Islamic principles
Iranian president accepts central bank governor’s resignation
Storms destroy 90 percent of displacement tents in Gaza, authorities say
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
VIDEO | The political project behind a billion-dollar fortune
Egypt says it rejected huge financial offers to accept Palestinian displacement
VIDEO | Iran launches 3 satellites into orbit aboard Russian Soyuz rocket
Ukrainian forces should retreat from Donbas for peace to happen: Russia
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
