RIYADH, 11 November 2007 — France, facing a 2 billion euro trade deficit vis-à-vis the Kingdom despite their strong political relations, will mount an aggressive drive to promote innovative French technology in priority sectors of the Saudi economy.
A key element of this strategy would be the French Technology & Conferences “JTF 2007” scheduled at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh on Nov. 24-26, said French Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot at a press conference attended by economic and commercial counselor Jean-Claude Daupeyroux and a large number of French business executives.
The ambassador said that some 40 French companies, including the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), will showcase their products and services to introduce innovative technology in areas such as water and power generation, human resources development, infrastructure development, telecommunications, environment, industrial equipment, transportation, etc.
The exhibition is being organized by the French Economic Mission in collaboration with the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Saudi French Business Council.
He said the French technology roadshow has been timed to coincide with the Kingdom’s “second economic boom” and its liberalized economic regime in the wake of its reforms program. But it also takes on board the Kingdom’s need for state-of-the-art technology in its priority sectors and France’s own trade deficit aggravated further by a sinking dollar that has had an adverse impact on its exports to this country. The ambassador said the exhibition is being held against the backdrop of the high profile visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to France in June this year which resulted in the forging of strategic alliance between the two countries. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to arrive here in January next year.
He pointed out that the exhibition was intended to promote interaction between the French SMEs and their Saudi counterparts. Another objective was to promote public-private partnership between the two countries. To this end, business dialogue would also be held on the sidelines of the exhibition to identify areas of cooperation in the key sectors.
Daupeyroux said 60 French companies were already operating in the Kingdom. Together, they had provided job opportunities for 22,000 employees, including a fair percentage of Saudis. The number of French expatriates ranges between 3,500 and 4,000.
France’s main imports from the Kingdom are petroleum and its derivatives. French exports to Saudi Arabia range from chicken and meat to automobiles, telecommunications, defense and industrial machinery to consumer goods, including luxury products.
In the water sector, French companies had wrapped up some major deals in desalination and wastewater treatment. Dion L. Ten Horn, managing director of Veolia Water, told Arab News that they had a tie-up with Metito Arab Industries in the field of water desalination.
Dr. Guy Le Queux, general manager, Biolab, said his company was engaged in wastewater treatment in different parts of the Kingdom.
