Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, held talks here Wednesday with Jean-Yves Le Drian on prospects of expanding defense cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, State Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Rahman Binayan, Naval Force Commander Gen. Abdullah Al-Sultan and other senior officials attended the talks.

Prince Salman also met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and discussed major regional and international issues, including Middle East peace and the situations in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as the two countries’ efforts to combat terrorism in the region.

The crown prince and his delegation also met with Jack Lang, president of the Arab World Institute in Paris, who expressed his organization’s desire to strengthen its relations with Saudi Arabia.

Lang thanked the Saudi government for its continuous support to the institute to carry out its cultural mission for the benefit of Arab and French communities. Prince Salman commended the institute’s efforts to strengthen cultural relations between France and the Arab world.

Prince Salman and his delegation, meanwhile, attended a luncheon hosted by the Saudi Embassy in Paris. Senior French officials, including Fabius and Le Drian, attended the luncheon.