Saudi Gazette report

PARIS - Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, met French President Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace on Tuesday.

The Crown Prince and Macron co-chaired the meeting of the Saudi French Strategic Partnership Council. During the meeting, the Crown Prince conveyed greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the French president.

Their talks figured mainly on strengthening the Saudi French bilateral ties and strategic partnership and continuing bilateral cooperation in different fields. The leaders also discussed the latest developments in the region and the efforts being made to maintain regional security and stability.

The Crown Prince and Macron oversaw the ceremony of signing cooperation agreement pertaining to developing heritage and historical sites in Al-Ula region. The pact was signed by Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan, governor of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula region and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Several agreements in the fields of culture, tourism and the economy were also signed. On the sidelines of the Crown Prince’s visit, 20 economic agreements were signed with the French side totaling $18 billion.

The Crown Prince on Tuesday held separate meetings with French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. During the meeting with Maire, they discussed ways to enhance partnership and investment opportunities, including attracting promising investments aimed to localize technology and qualify young Saudis.

The Crown Prince met with prominent French clergymen. Speaking on the occasion, both sides underscored the need to cement positive co-existence and tolerance among followers of different faiths.

Also on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and France signed a protocol for cooperation in the field of tourism.

On behalf of Prince Sultan Bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Jubeir signed the pact while the French side was represented in signing it by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The protocol aims at exchanging experiences in the field of destination management, developing human resources employed in the tourism sector, developing tourism products, in addition to classification of hotels, as well as promotion of cultural tourism, environment, businesses and marine activities.

Al-Jubeir signed another protocol with French Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen in the field of heritage, which aims to exchange experiences in the field of heritage, management of historical sites and transfer of knowledge and experience in organizing exhibitions and managing museums. It also aims to develop handicrafts and traditional industries, train those working in the heritage field and organize joint training courses.