Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman travels to Paris next week to reinforce growing ties between the two countries, the French embassy in Riyadh said on Thursday.

Prince Mohammad, 30, will hold talks on Monday with President Francois Hollande.

On Tuesday, the Saudi royal is to co-host the third Saudi-French joint committee with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Mohammad, a driving force for change in the kingdom, is Saudi Arabia’s defence minister and chairs the main economic coordinating body, the Council of Economic Affairs and Development.

Second in line to the throne, he is behind the kingdom’s wide-ranging Vision 2030 plan to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy.

The plan, unveiled in April, is complemented by the National Transformation Programme which sets five-year targets for a tripling of non-oil revenue and other measures.

Since mid-June, Prince Mohammad has been in the United States where he met President Barack Obama and has held talks with major US corporations.

France’s ties with Saudi Arabia have grown under Hollande, while Riyadh has been building alliances beyond its traditional defence partner the United States to counter Riyadh’s regional rival Iran.

Prince Mohammad’s visit to France serves “to underline and deepen the excellence of the global French-Saudi strategic partnership”, an embassy statement said.

The prince made his first official visit to Paris in June last year for the inaugural Saudi-French joint committee, following a summit meeting in Riyadh between Hollande and Gulf leaders including Prince Mohammad’s father King Salman Bin Abdulaziz.

Through the joint committee, both countries are seeking to reinforce diverse ties — ranging from defence to energy, health, agriculture and sport.

During meetings with French politicians, including Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the two sides will look at “new perspectives of cooperation in the framework of the National Transformation Programme”, the embassy said.

“Major regional issues will also be touched upon.”

Prince Mohammad is also expected to meet with French business leaders.

On a visit to Riyadh in October, Valls announced agreements, some that were still to be finalised, worth €10 billion ($11 billion) in a range of sectors.

France is the third-biggest foreign investor in Saudi Arabia.