Kingdom, France to discuss bilateral trade in Paris

France is to host a delegation comprising Saudi businessmen at a forum to be held in Paris from April 10 to 12, to discuss economic and commercial issues and boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
The Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum will be the largest Saudi-French economic gathering to explore the investment opportunities available in the two countries,” Secretary General of the Committee for International Trade at the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) Omar Bahlaiwa said yesterday.
The forum is being organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Committee for International Trade, the Saudi-French Business Council at CSC and the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF). It is being arranged with the support of Minister of Commerce and Industry Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, the official said.
The forum, he said is part of a series of such meetings that will be co-organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the CSC in different parts of the world in cooperation with concerned countries to explore available business opportunities and promote an economic partnership and bilateral trade between the countries.
Bahlaiwa added that the three-day forum will focus on strengthening cooperation in sectors of added value, which contain viable opportunities in sectors such as health care, industries, trade, workforce, infrastructure, finance and banking, pointing to the size and solidity of those sectors in the Kingdom and the incentives they offer to foreign investors.
He also explained that one of the forum’s missions will be to introduce to the French side the economic development in the Kingdom and the large enterprises it has implemented, which run into billions of riyals.
It is also designed to attract foreign investments into the Kingdom and take advantage of their expertise and technology while implementing new projects, he added.
The forum’s agenda would include speeches by officials from Saudi Arabia and France, in addition to 10 general and specialized sessions — Saudi economy, finances, health care, renewable energy, sustainable development, oil and petrochemicals, transport, urban development, water, electricity, agriculture and industrial infrastructure, among others.
Bahlaiwa added that the forum will also include selective speakers from both sides as well as influential decision-makers in the public and private sectors.