Mohammed Bin Salman will travel to France on Friday for an official visit during which he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron, the royal palace announced on Wednesday (June 14). “An opportunity to strengthen the strategic partnership between France and Saudi Arabia”underlines Wednesday in a tweet the French ambassador in Riyadh, Ludovic Pouille.
De facto leader of the oil kingdom, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia will also participate in the Summit for a new global financial pact, organized on June 22 and 23 in Paris, added the royal palace in its press release. He must also attend a ceremony scheduled for June 19 in the French capital to formalize Riyadh’s candidacy to host the 2030 World Expo, according to the same source.
Human rights violations
The leader of the wealthy Gulf monarchy, the world’s largest crude exporter, visited Paris in July 2022, in a context of soaring energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine. It was his first visit to France since the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by agents from his country.
Critic of Saudi power, the journalist was killed and dismembered on October 2, 2018 in the premises of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, when he came to get the papers necessary for his marriage. Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest arms buyers in the world, is regularly accused of serious human rights violations.
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