Partnership goes beyond oil… Paris deepens investments in major Saudi projects
Specialists to Asharq Al-Awsat: The new agreements bring French companies deeper into the Kingdom's value chains
The Saudi-French partnership has reached a new pivotal point, transcending traditional cooperation in the energy and oil sector to move towards a comprehensive strategic partnership in implementing major development projects. On the sidelines of the visit of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to Paris, the two countries signed more than 21 agreements and memoranda of understanding, supported by credit lines and financing facilities worth billions of dollars. This move aims to deepen French investments in the value chains of Saudi projects and support the objectives of Vision 2030 in the areas of infrastructure, aviation, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and entertainment.
These 21 new agreements and understandings reflect a French trend towards strengthening the presence of its companies in the Saudi project cycle, benefiting from financing tools and credit guarantees that open up broader opportunities for their participation in the goals of Vision 2030.
The agreements are not limited to the sale of products, but also encompass infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, electricity, aviation, tourism, entertainment, and research and development. In other words, French companies are aiming to participate in the value chain of Saudi projects, not merely to supply them.
Investment Returns
In this context, Shura Council member and economic advisor, Fadl bin Saad Al-Buainain, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Crown Prince's visit to France came at a crucial time, as the region faces geopolitical challenges and the world is experiencing significant economic shifts related to energy security and supply disruptions.
He explained that it is noteworthy that the visit focused on strengthening the economic partnership according to a clear strategic vision, in line with the Kingdom's interests, as evidenced by the signed agreements.
Al-Buainain emphasized that the new understandings simultaneously reflect French interest in enhancing the partnership on sustainable investment foundations, supported by credit lines to finance exports and companies undertaking projects within the Kingdom. This serves the Kingdom's interest in promoting development, implementing projects, and achieving the Vision's objectives, while simultaneously generating investment returns for French companies.
He added: "The agreements are no longer solely about selling products or oil, but are now more closely linked to economic development, infrastructure, tourism and entertainment, artificial intelligence, research, and other important sectors, thereby adding value to projects and enhancing local content."
He added, “It is important to highlight the two agreements related to the development of Al-Ula and the Qiddiya projects, and their impact on the culture, tourism, and entertainment sectors, which are among the most important sectors targeted for increasing their contribution to the GDP.” Al-Buainain continued, stating that the Kingdom is no longer the one seeking economic partnerships; rather, countries around the world are now more eager to establish them and meet the requirements of such partnerships. This is evidenced by France’s keenness to support its partnership with Riyadh through high-quality agreements that directly contribute to achieving the objectives of Vision 2030, around which all economic agreements revolve.
***The most attention-grabbing agreement for me today is Saudi Arabia's actual entry into the quantum computing sector The technology is still in its early stages, but over the coming years, it could have a major impact in fields like: • Drug and new materials discovery• Improving energy networks and logistics• Solving complex optimization problems• Security and encryption• Supporting artificial intelligence applications..What's beautiful to me is that we're not waiting for the technology to mature and then buying it—we're starting now to build expertise and infrastructure inside the Kingdom.
A new tech sector expected to see huge momentum over the next 5–10 years, and I'm excited to see where Saudi Arabia takes it.
