Saudi Arabia and France have announced 21 agreements and memoranda of understanding covering energy, industry, financial services, transport, logistics, artificial intelligence, healthcare, culture and tourism.
The agreements were unveiled during Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman’s state visit to France on August 23 and 24, including a Saudi-French Investment Roundtable in Paris attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Among the largest deals, Saudi Aramco signed purchase agreements worth about $3.7B with SLB and Vallourec for drilling materials and steel pipes. Aramco Digital also signed an MoU with Dassault Systèmes to explore artificial intelligence and virtual twin technologies, including applications in oil and gas.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance and Bpifrance Assurance Export agreed to establish a credit line of up to $5B to finance contracts involving French companies, with a focus on projects linked to Vision 2030. Saudi Energy separately signed an agreement with Bpifrance to support the modernization of the kingdom’s electricity grid.
Qiddiya Investment Company also agreed with the French government to explore a mixed-use entertainment destination in Cergy-Pontoise. The proposed project could involve around €6B, or approximately $7B, over its development lifecycle.
The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation in AI, quantum computing and other emerging technologies, while extending their AlUla partnership until 2035.
Source: Fast Company Middle East
