Saudi Crown Prince Receives French President in Riyadh - Sarmad

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman received French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting Saudi Arabia following a Gulf tour that included Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, the existing Saudi-French cooperation, and ways to enhance it across various fields in a manner that serves the common interests of the two friendly nations.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was joined at King Khalid International Airport by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Deputy Emir of the Riyadh Region; Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayaf, the region’s governor; and Patrick Maisonnave, the French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Relations between Riyadh and Paris hold particular importance amid accelerating international and regional changes that require the exchange of views and coordination of positions between the two countries.

According to a French presidential source, President Macron is the European leader most keen on maintaining communication with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The source confirmed that President Macron maintains regular contact with the Saudi Crown Prince.

In the same vein, the presidential source described the level of communication between Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Macron as “very close,” noting that it is not limited to a single sector but encompasses several areas, including energy and culture.

In this context, the historical relations between the two countries reflect continuous cooperation over decades across various fields, with both nations seeking to enhance collaboration in multiple areas.

Earlier, Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Houthi attacks in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia threaten Middle East stability, global supplies, and energy security. He emphasized that Paris strongly condemned the recent attacks targeting Riyadh Airport and other civilian sites, which resulted in civilian casualties and hundreds of injuries, including a French woman.

He added that France reaffirms its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and confirmed its continued support for defending its territory and facilities, pointing to Paris’s announcement on September 24 to deploy military assets to protect the Yanbu Energy Facility, Saudi Arabia’s main crude oil export terminal on the Red Sea.

He stressed that the French approach is purely defensive, aiming to prevent a new rise in global energy prices, and affirmed that Paris does not seek to engage in the conflict but rather to prevent a new escalation in the region that would run counter to everyone’s interests.

Regarding maritime security, he noted France’s continued participation in the European Defense Operation Aspides in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through the deployment of a frigate tasked with protecting civilian vessels.