RIYADH, 12 July 2006 — Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, plans to visit Paris next week to help boost political, economic and cultural ties between France and Saudi Arabia, French Ambassador Charles-Henri D’Aragon told Arab News yesterday.

Prince Sultan will pay a three-day visit to France beginning July 19 at the invitation of President Jacques Chirac.

Crown Prince Sultan is expected to meet Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie during the visit. Prince Sultan’s last visit to Paris was in 1999 when he was second deputy premier.

D’Aragon said the two parties are chalking out the agenda for the visit. He added the recent exchanges of high level visits have enhanced the areas of cooperation between the two countries.

“The Kingdom is an important country in the region, hence we have to keep our bilateral activities lively for mutual interests,” D’Aragon noted.

In April 2005, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah visited Paris when he was crown prince and it was reciprocated by President Chirac’s visit to Riyadh in March.

“The forthcoming visit is going to be the second high-level visit between the two countries during the year,” said D’Aragon.

He said about 25,000 French visas have been issued in Riyadh and Jeddah since January. “The increasing number of visas indicates the growing interest of Saudis to visit France for business and leisure. Last year, around 60 Saudi students were given scholarships to study medicine in French universities. This year, it has been increased to 80,” he said

Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization and liberalization of its trade policies have paved the way for new opportunities for foreign investors, he said, pointing out that the French joint ventures have provided more than 20,000 jobs.

Currently, there are 60 Saudi-French joint ventures in the Kingdom. The latest additions to the network include BNP Bank and the AGEF Insurance Company.

Last year, French imports from the Kingdom stood at 3.6 billion euros, while its exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at 1.65 billion euros. Saudi Arabia remained the third largest oil supplier of France.

Ambassador D’Aragon will host a reception on Friday at his residence to mark his country’s National Day. French citizens in the Kingdom and members of the diplomatic corps, government officials and local businessmen are expected to participate in the celebrations.