FRANCE’S Consul General in Jeddah, Christian Nakhlé, makes an immediate impression on anyone who meets him. He comes over as self-assured, intelligent and a bundle of energy — in fact one could say that he is energy on two feet. He takes an interest in everyone he meets and everything he sees and hears, yet he is able to immediately put those who meet him for the first time at ease. Outgoing and charming as perhaps only a Frenchman can be, he is in many senses the perfect diplomat.
The Arab World and the wider Middle East fascinate him, and he is fluent in Arabic. The fascination is not surprising. His family lived in Alexandria and Cairo for several generations; his great uncle was a prominent cardiologist there who founded a major hospital. He himself was born in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. So far in his diplomatic career, his Middle East focus has taken him to Jerusalem where he worked at the French consulate general between 1997 and 2001, and the embassy in Cairo between 2001 and 2005.
One of the things Nakhlé has set out to do since arriving in Jeddah is to provide more cultural facilities and events for French people living and working in and around Jeddah, other French speakers and those who are Francophiles.
You chose to come to Jeddah. Why?
As a career diplomat specializing in the Middle East, I was doing some extremely interesting work between 2005 and 2008 at the “Centre d’Analyse et de Prévision” (the French Foreign Ministry’s policy planning unit on the Quai d’Orsay in Paris). Since then it has become the ministry’s new ‘direction de la prospective’ (a future policy research center). As a result of my postings in Jerusalem and Cairo, working on political affairs, then back in Paris, I could see the geopolitical importance of Saudi Arabia in current regional affairs. I visited Jeddah and Riyadh on a number of occasions during this period, each time thinking how fascinating and rewarding it would be to work here full time as a diplomat. And then the Foreign Ministry decided to send me to Jeddah to head up the Consulate General. My appointment by the French president as Consul General was in April 2008. On Sept. 1, I arrived in Jeddah — which in 2008 also happened to be the first day of Ramadan!
How do you find the place?
I feel completely at home in Jeddah. I quickly found myself at ease here both in my professional capacity as well as in my social life. One reason is that, at the Consulate General, I was helped to settle in by a very competent and enthusiastic team. On the social front, I have been fortunate in getting involved very quickly in a wide variety of circles, some of them at quite some removed from normal diplomatic life — for example, doctors and journalists. I find it very exciting living in such hectic conditions in a city as dynamic as Jeddah. I must add that my contacts with the local authorities have been everything I could ask for, be it with the regional branch of the Saudi Foreign Ministry or the offices of the various governorates that cover the area I serve.
What future plans do you have in mind in terms of developing links between the French community and Jeddah, and stimulating local interest in France, its culture and what it has to offer in terms of exports and services?
We work on a daily basis with our Saudi partners to build up strong ties between our two countries. Examples of this are some of the recent French delegations that have come to Jeddah with the aim of attracting Saudi investors in projects in France. The Franco-Saudi business circle, Cafsda, has been in existence since 1995 but it involved only French people in the western region. In 2006, it was opened up to Saudi businessmen and in December 2007, at the instigation of Arnaud Delaval, the local representative of a major French group in the aviation industry, it was formally recognized by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It now has some 60 members, a third of whom are Saudi businessmen, all of them economically or commercially involved with France in one way or another. Cafsda runs a well-organized, well coordinated program of activities, including conferences on economic and commercial issues, how best to promote products and services and on working with the French Economic Section based at the Consulate General. Recently it organized an aeronautic seminar and an environment seminar. The involvement of a number of French small- and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Build 2009 was another of its successes.
There has been much talk about technical and educational cooperation between the two countries? Can you elucidate?
At the embassy in Riyadh there is a very proactive cultural and cooperation section. Its subsection at the Consulate General in Jeddah, run by Alain Marquer, is involved with a number of cooperation projects. In particular, we’re working with Saudi universities, collaborating on training, archeology, the improvement and preservation of the country’s heritage as well as science and technology. French language training throughout the Kingdom is another of our priorities. We know that there’s still lot of other work to do but I must add that our Saudi partners are always very interested in collaborating with us.
How do you see ties between Saudi Arabia and France?
You must realize that as consul general in Jeddah I take a subsidiary position to that of our ambassador in Riyadh; he takes the lead on bilateral political matters. But I don’t want to avoid your question. In my answer to your question as to why I chose to come to Saudi Arabia, I tried to tell you that I knew I was going to serve in a country that is a friend of France, close to us and intimately connected with our own strategic objectives in the region. When I was working in Cairo between 2001 and 2005, I was mainly in charge of our relations with the Arab League. Throughout, I was working very closely with Saudi colleagues. Since coming to Jeddah, I’ve realized that the links between our two countries go beyond those of a simple agreement between two allied states. There is a real flow, a current, between Paris and Riyadh — and, of course, Jeddah. Having been involved in organizing the visit to Jeddah last November by our President, Monsieur Sarkozy, I now know how genuinely friendly is the relationship between our two heads of state.
What development do you hope to see in the future?
I like Jeddah very much. I feel good here. Because I adore “cities in the south”, I really hope that this city will develop and can benefit from the experiences of the great French cities. I recently met with the mayor of Jeddah and told him that we’d be only too delighted to provide help and advice if the authorities here want it. I think it’s absolutely vital these days that the development of major cities, especially the second city of the Kingdom, takes environmental standards into account, favors public transport and provides centers of activity, parks and open spaces and other public facilities. I’m greatly encouraged that people I’ve been speaking to in Jeddah share these ideas. I firmly believe that this city is going to develop very rapidly and the Jeddah that I’ve come to know during my stay in Saudi Arabia won’t be the same Jeddah that I’ll perhaps have the chance to revisit in a dozen or so years’ time. Everything’s moving so very fast here with the various building projects that seem to be multiplying all the time. I hope with all my heart that this development will protect the environment and the interests of the city’s inhabitants.
The Consulate General in Jeddah is larger than some French embassies elsewhere. It’s one of the largest of any country in the city, certainly the largest of any European country. Why? Is it necessary?
This Consulate General, as the successor to what was a simple consular presence in the 19th century, has historic significance for French people in Saudi Arabia. It has long been the case. Remember that French pilgrims going to Makkah a hundred years ago and more would seek and find the help they needed from the French consular mission. During the 20th century, the mission changed to meet the needs of the time: The establishment of the Kingdom; later the transfer of the capital to Riyadh. All the services provided by the French state are available here, which perhaps give the illusion that it is bigger than those of our European colleagues. But I don’t think so! We’re probably well below the scale of our Arab and American counterparts, not to mention the Russians! Today, it is very much in our interest to maintain a presence in Jeddah, not just because of the importance of the Muslim community in France, which I remind you is the largest in Europe, but also because of our economic and commercial links. I firmly believe that our presence in Jeddah meets real needs. I’m hardly going to criticize the authorities for what I think is a very good decision, maintaining the Consulate General as it is.
