French Foreign Minister in Riyadh Ahead of Macron's Gulf Tour
French Foreign Minister meets his Saudi counterpart to reaffirm French support for Saudi Arabia.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro will travel to Riyadh on Sunday evening, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s tour of the Gulf, to reaffirm Paris’s support for Saudi Arabia, particularly in protecting its oil facilities.
Barro will meet his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan. In a statement, the ministry said he “will reaffirm France’s solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the face of repeated Houthi attacks, and its support for the Kingdom’s defense of its territory.”
During his visit, Barro will also meet a French citizen who was injured in an attack on Riyadh Airport that killed 13 people and wounded 309 on October 10.
The Élysée Palace announced on Wednesday that French President Emmanuel Macron will visit four Gulf states—Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar—from October 19 to 21, to secure supplies of “diesel and oil” that could help lower fuel prices at gas stations in France.
Fuel supplies from the Gulf have been affected by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in February, as well as by the ongoing conflict around the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and Iran-backed Houthis.
