Saudi crown prince heads to France as ties deepen: What to expect

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will begin a two-day visit to Paris on Sunday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and other top officials and discuss the escalating tensions in the region as Saudi-French relations continue to deepen.  

What’s on the agenda?

In a statement cited Thursday by French news outlets, the Elysee Palace said Macron and Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s prime minister and de facto leader, will meet on Sunday to review the latest regional developments within the framework of close cooperation between France and Arab Gulf countries to promote stability and peace in the Middle East.

The two leaders will convene and chair the first meeting of the Franco-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council, which was first announced during Macron’s visit to Riyadh back in December 2024.

Prince Mohammed’s visit “reflects the vitality of the dialogue between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France and will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the strategic partnership between our two countries,” according to the statement, which said he will also attend the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup event in Paris on Sunday, which is being held in Paris for the first time outside Saudi Arabia since its creation in 2023. The event was established by the Saudi crown prince.

On Monday, Prince Mohammed is scheduled to meet with French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, according to a statement from the premier’s office cited by French media.

“The high-level meeting provides an opportunity to address key bilateral and international issues, whether economic, security-related or diplomatic,” the statement read.

Saudi Arabia has yet to announce the upcoming visit.

Importance of visit

Prince Mohammed will arrive in the French capital as regional and international diplomatic efforts to reach a US-Iran agreement are stalling, leaving the region under intense security and economic strain.

The war between Iran and the US and Israel that erupted in late February has expanded to the wider Middle East region after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Gulf and Arab countries hosting US military sites, including Saudi Arabia, in response to the US-Israeli strikes.

During a phone conversation on Aug. 7, Macron and Prince Mohammed discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts to promote stability in the region and ensure the security and freedom of maritime navigation.

Relations between France and Saudi Arabia have evolved significantly in recent years, notably under Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Gulf kingdom’s economy away from oil.

Since a strategic partnership between the two countries was established in 2024, ties further grew in various sectors, including in the investment, technology, energy and defense fields.

One of the world’s leading arms exporters, France had been seeking to expand its influence in the region even before the Iran war broke out by promoting military cooperation and arms deals with regional countries.

Last January, the United Arab Emirates received a first batch of French Rafale fighter jets under a 16.6 billion-euro ($17.2 billion) deal signed with France in 2021 to supply the Gulf state with 80 warplanes, the largest overseas sale of the French warplane to date.

French aerospace company Dassault Aviation confirmed back in 2023 that negotiations were ongoing with Saudi Arabia for the sale of 54 Rafale fighter jets.

In 2015, the two countries signed a series of agreements worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion), including one for 30 patrol boats.

France continued to sell weapons and military equipment to Saudi Arabia despite calls by rights groups to halt all arms exports to the kingdom in the aftermath of the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In 2018, France’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia rose by 50%, with weapons exports to the kingdom reaching about 1 billion euros (about $1.16 billion), according to French government data.

Since his appointment as crown prince in 2017, Prince Mohammed has visited Paris three times: in April 2018, July 2022 and June 2023.