A full agenda awaits Nicolas Forissier, France’s minister delegate for foreign trade, during his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on November 21, a trip that comes as Paris seeks to deepen its economic and commercial ties with Riyadh.
According to the program circulated by the French Foreign Ministry, Forissier is scheduled to meet the Saudi minister of transport and logistics services and the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources on Saturday and Sunday.
He will also take part in the Saudi French Business Forum, hold talks with French economic advisers in Riyadh, and meet the director general of the Riyadh Expo 2030 authority.
His program includes meetings with Saudi business leaders, the director general of Kingdom Holding Company, and the Saudi chair of the business forum.
In a symbolic gesture, Forissier will visit the Qiddiya tourism and entertainment project, the King Fahd Metro station, and its control and monitoring center.
During the Business Forum, a number of contracts between the Saudi and French sides will be signed.
A statement from the French Foreign Ministry said the visit reflects Paris’s desire to strengthen the bilateral economic partnership and support French companies involved in the major transformation projects under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The ministry said the trip would highlight French expertise in key sectors that include infrastructure, transport, energy, industry and services.
Paris views the visit as a new stage in strengthening France’s presence in Saudi Arabia and supporting the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy. It said Forissier’s meetings with Saudi government officials will be dedicated to discussing joint projects under preparation in those main sectors.
Paris also considers the Riyadh Business Forum, which Forissier will help open, an opportunity to showcase French capabilities and offerings in major events, particularly Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup.
French diplomatic sources said the trip is Forissier’s first to Saudi Arabia since he assumed his post and that it carries political, economic and strategic dimensions.
They said its purpose is to bolster bilateral relations, reinforce French participation in Saudi mega-projects, and position France as a principal partner in the major international events Riyadh will host in the coming years.
Paris sees the minister’s visit as an extension of the momentum created by President Emmanuel Macron’s 2024 visit to Saudi Arabia, which saw the announcement of around 10 billion euros in contracts and commercial commitments, along with the signing of a treaty establishing a partnership council to guide long-term French Saudi cooperation.
According to the diplomatic sources, the visit comes at a pivotal moment as the Kingdom advances an unprecedented economic transformation under Vision 2030, covering energy, transport, infrastructure, tourism, technology, entertainment and smart cities.
Paris wants to underline that its companies active in these sectors are already significant players.
It cites examples that include Alstom, which built six lines of the Riyadh Metro and is preparing to bid for a seventh, the Paris transport authority RATP, which helps operate the network, and Bouygues Construction, which is implementing the Qiddiya project. France also points to Accor’s role in developing AlUla.
According to the sources, Paris values the high level of trust Saudi authorities place in its companies and their role in delivering upcoming major events.
Official figures show that trade between Saudi Arabia and France reached 7.6 billion euros last year, while France ranked third among major investors with direct investment in the Saudi economy amounting to 17.4 billion dollars in 2023.
