RIYADH, 28 April — The French Chamber of Commerce (FCC) has opened a chapter in Riyadh to promote French investments in the Kingdom and vice versa.
An agreement was signed here between Pierre Bonnard, president of FCC, and Sulaiman Al-Abdul Hadi, general manager, Periwinkle for Trading Est., FCC’s sponsor in the Kingdom. It is the first time that a Saudi firm will represent the French Chamber of Commerce in the Kingdom. Stephen Ravion, vice president of FCC, was also present.
Earlier, Sulaiman said Periwinkle will promote cooperation between Saudi and French companies. It will also represent the French chamber in the Middle East.
Addressing a press conference, Bonnard said the French chamber has already been registered with the French Embassy here, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh has been notified. It will function from the premises of Periwinkle and do networking with Saudi and French companies, besides playing the role of a matchmaker. It will also set up a database to keep the private sectors in both countries updated on the rules and regulations as well as investment opportunities that are available.
Significantly, the opening of the French chamber in the Kingdom comes in the wake of the Sept.11 events of last year and the growing anti-American sentiments in this region. Bonnard referred to this aspect when he said that the Sept.11 events had introduced a new dimension in the Middle East by demonstrating France’s solidarity with the Arabs, its solid support to the Palestinians and other Arab causes.
It was for this reason, he pointed out, that the French chamber, originally set up in 1971 to forge trade links with the Francophone countries, had extended its mandate to include the Middle East and other Muslim countries from Morocco to Pakistan as well as Iran, Sudan and Turkey, where representative offices will be opened.
Ravion said the French chamber would be playing the role of a catalyst in stimulating trade and investments in both directions. French exports to the Kingdom stood at SR4.7 billion, 5.7 percent up over the figures for 1999, while Saudi exports were valued at SR11 billion, representing a 46 percent increase during the same period.
On the investment side, it will identify opportunities for potential investors in the mining and power sectors, social security, communications, tourism, real estate development and sewage water treatment, in which France is particularly strong. To this end, it will set up a business intelligence unit to collect data on the different sectors and pass it on to the prospective investors. Other priorities will be human resources development, healthcare and the educational sectors.
