Message from the French Ambassador to Saudi Aarabia, His Excellency Mr. Charles-Henri D'Aragon, on the occasion of France's National Day
Having been in the Kingdom for a few months, I am pleased to celebrate France’s National Day. On this occasion, I would like to greet the Kingdom’s authorities, above all His Majesty King Fahd, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and HRH Crown Prince Abdullah. I would also like to convey my appreciation to all our Saudi friends for their loyalty and their efforts to strengthen our distinctive relationship.
The year 2005 has been marked, on the bilateral level, by the significant visit of HRH, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to France from the 13th until the 15th of April. The warm and friendly atmosphere raised by the two leaders could only emphasize the exceptional nature of the relations sustained by our two countries, and point out to their will to reinforce the strategic dialogue.
During the Crown Prince’s visit, President Jacques Chirac had the occasion to pay tribute to the program of political reforms undertaken by the Kingdom, be it the National Dialogue sessions, the strengthening of the Majliss Ash-Shoura, or the organization of municipal elections — a reminder that these reforms have to emerge from the will of the people and respectful of a country’s particular identity in order to be lasting.
The wave of terrorism striking the region has fortunately decreased in the Kingdom during the last months, thanks to the determination of the authorities and the efficiency of the Saudi security forces. Last April, President Chirac confirmed France’s strong commitment to do its best to eradicate this plague that nothing can justify, and to fight alongside the Saudis within the framework of international law.
It is essential to stress on the major role the Kingdom is playing on the international scene and in helping through the influence of its diplomacy to maintain the security and stability in the Middle East, especially regarding the peace process between Arabs and Israel, the right for the Palestinian people to live with dignity in an independent and viable state, Lebanon’s independence and the Iraq issue.
France also appreciates the Kingdom’s moderate role in stabilizing the oil price at a level that should not be prejudicial to the growth of the international economy.
This year, our bilateral relations have been marked as well by several visits of French prominent personalities to Riyadh, such as the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of transport, and an important delegation of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Commission. In addition many teachers from French universities and researchers came from France to reinforce the dialogue and the cooperation with the universities of Riyadh and Jeddah.
Many important French businessmen have organized numerous missions to the Kingdom in collaboration with the MEDEF, which represents French employers. Several delegations of Saudi businessmen also visited France lately on the initiative of the Saudi French Business Council. We work closely with the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the SAGIA in developing the economic and commercial bilateral relations in the context of the ongoing liberalization of Saudi Arabia’s economy and the outstanding progress of the Kingdom’s public finances, and in supporting French firms established here: Technip, Danone, Calyon (Banque Saudi-Fransi), Schneider Electric, Alstom, Thalès, Bouygues, Accor, Carrefour, Géant Casino, Axa.
As President Chirac recently noted, this year should be marked by the decisive step of Saudi Arabia’s adherence to the WTO, which is strongly supported by France.
We are actively working on the cultural, touristic and human levels in order to develop university exchanges via many projects. Among those, the “Eurogolfe initiative,” on which we are presently working, which will enable Gulf students, and notably Saudis, to go to France in September and study in three languages — Arabic, French and English — in order to graduate from the Institute of Political Studies of Paris.
Young Saudis will also have the opportunity to carry out their complete medical studies in France.
The cooperation between le Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Riyadh Museum, now well in progress, should be marked by an exhibition of the “Islamic Art Collections of the Louvre,” in Riyadh.
On this day, celebrating the 14th of July in Riyadh, I could only wish all the Saudis who have chosen to spend their holidays in France a pleasant stay. France, one of the most visited countries in the world, is pleased to notice the growing number of Saudi visitors. Indeed the French Embassy is one of the embassies in Riyadh which delivers the highest number of visas, about 15,000 visas per year, valid for all the countries of the Schengen states. This touristic stream encourages a better mutual understanding between the two countries which should entice the French to discover Saudi Arabia and to deepen a useful dialogue for both parties.