Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Visit to boost strategic partnership
French ambassador Bertrand Besancenot has said that President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Riyadh aims, among other things, to further enhance the existing strategic partnership between the two countries that covers all political, economic and military fields.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:54 January 14, 2008
Riyadh: French ambassador Bertrand Besancenot has said that President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Riyadh aims, among other things, to further enhance the existing strategic partnership between the two countries that covers all political, economic and military fields.
"The Saudi-French summit is to activate a number of agreements and contracts concluded with the Saudi side," the envoy told Gulf News.
He said that an agreement for selling advanced French military equipment is expected to be signed during Sarkozy's visit, but he declined to elaborate.
He pointed out that Paris is working to increase its investments in Saudi Arabia through involvement in a number of projects in railways, electricity and water.
He said that the visit will also encourage Saudi students to go to French universities and the teaching of French language in Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia sends more than 500 students annually to study at French universities," he said.
Share this article
More from Saudi Arabia
More from Gulf
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
Shilpa Shetty ties knot with Kundra
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty tied the knot with London-based businessman Raj Kundra
-
A weighty issue for Gulf News readers
Should we encourage pupils to slim down? Gulf News readers speak out
-
Work on world's longest sea crossing to begin in 2010
The proposed Qatar-Bahrain causeway project, tipped to be the world's longest sea crossing, is estimated at a cost of at $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion)
