Saudi-French Agreement to Boost Economnic Cooperation

Franck Riester, French minister delegate for foreign trade and economic attractiveness (L) and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia (R).
Franck Riester, French minister delegate for foreign trade and economic attractiveness (L) and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia (R).
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Saudi-French Agreement to Boost Economnic Cooperation

Franck Riester, French minister delegate for foreign trade and economic attractiveness (L) and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia (R).
Franck Riester, French minister delegate for foreign trade and economic attractiveness (L) and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia (R).

A French delegation of government officials, diplomats, and investors concluded their visit to Saudi Arabia by signing an agreement to boost bilateral investment relations and support long-term partnerships in emerging sectors.

The delegation included French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester and French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ludovic Pouille.

The framework cooperation deal was signed between the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and MEDEF International, which is a French non-profit responsible for promoting the French private sector internationally.

Commenting on the agreement, Laurent Germain, chairman of the Saudi-French Business Council of MEDEF International, said: “I am delighted to have signed the framework cooperation agreement between MEDEF International and the Saudi Ministry of Investment, which will serve as an important step in deepening Saudi-French economic ties."

"Over the past couple of days, we held insightful and productive meetings with Saudi ministers, government officials, CEOs, and investors, and we thank our Saudi partners for hosting us.”

Speaking on the occasion, the French minister said: “French companies are ready and willing to be major partners in the Kingdom’s giga-projects. Thanks to their world-renowned know-how and unmatched expertise, they are ideally suited to meet the high expectations of the Kingdom.”

The meetings were held in Riyadh and were attended by several Saudi government entities, including officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Commerce, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF).



Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."