High-ranking officials from France are expected to visit the Kingdom in coming months following the recent visit of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to Paris.

French Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot told Arab News on Wednesday that the four-day visit of Crown Prince Salman has further strengthened already excellent relations between the two countries.

The French ministers of defense and economy are slated to visit the Kingdom in due course, according to Besancenot.

He pointed out that the two countries maintain excellent relations in the political, economic and cultural fields and that there are some 1,500 Saudi students studying in various universities and colleges in France.

“There was a 30 percent increase in the number of tourists from the Kingdom to Paris last year,” said Besancenot.

“The number will increase in coming years since Saudi Arabia has signed 70 cooperation agreements with French universities for various educational programs.”

Politically, the envoy said, the two countries have a common goal to fight terrorism globally and that both are interested in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Being the strategic trade partner for France, the Kingdom is also the No. 1 oil supplier, the envoy said.

Bilateral trade was pegged at 9.4 billion euros last year.

French exports to the Kingdom were worth 3.4 billion euros and Saudi exports to France 6 billion euros, mainly in oil and petrochemical products.

French exports to the Kingdom doubled in the past 10 years to 3.4 billion euros in 2013, while total bilateral trade also doubled in the past five years, reaching 9.4 billion euros. Trade also recorded an 8 percent increase in the past year.

“France is still ranked as the eighth supplier to Saudi Arabia, with a market share above 3 percent thanks to the major export of aircraft (484 million euros), cosmetics, chemical and pharmaceuticals (481 million euros), tubes and pipes (281 million euros) and chicken meat (228 million euros),” he said.

He pointed out that the bilateral relationship in the economic field is not limited to trade since 70 French firms are settled in the country and employ more than 20,000 people, with a 35 percent nationalization rate.

Globally, France is the third largest investor in Saudi Arabia, with a total investment of $15.3 billion.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and French President François Hollande decided to go a step further and enhance the Saudi-French partnership to a “strategic level” at the end of last year.

Agreements were signed in new fields, such as agro-food and health.

“Our French companies are dedicated to strengthening their presence and wish to be active players in the various development programs launched in the Kingdom,” he said.

“Their contribution could be particularly rich in a lot of fields, such as urban transport and railways, water and sanitation, energy (including nuclear and renewable energies), energy efficiency, and the oil sector.

“Our economic relations must, however, involve SMEs from both countries. In fact, 20 percent of our exports have been achieved by French SMEs.”

The Saudi French business forum will take place in the Kingdom in March next year.

The first forum of this kind was organized in Paris in 2013 and was very successful, with over 600 companies from both countries participating. “Furthermore, a joint committee in the nuclear field was formed. All these events will give us the opportunity to discuss every aspect of the Saudi-French strategic partnership.”

French companies signed trade transactions to the value of 4.5 billion euros last year.

Several French groups have been already successful on major projects in many fields, such as the SATORP refinery in Jubail, Riyadh metro and bus networks, power stations and desalinization plants.