The crown Prince of Saudi Arabia arrived in Paris on Sunday, the day before his first official visit to France, which hoped to profit from his shake-up of the conservative Kingdom to establish new commercial relations.
Not large weapons contracts must be signed during the short visit of Mohammed bin Salman, but the “strategic partnership” will be announced on Tuesday with the President of France Emmanuel macron.
This 32-year-old heir to the Saudi throne, now in the center of the power structure of the Kingdom, caused massive reform in order to shed the harsh appearance of the Kingdom. Changes include allowing women to drive, presenting concerts and promising cinemas.
France hopes to join such industries as technology, renewable energy, health and tourism that Saudi Arabia wants to develop, official office, macron said. That includes development of a website for desert heritage.
The visit to the station “f” the left Bank of a huge incubator for startups on the agenda of the crown Prince.
The Minister of foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed the crown Prince and his Royal retinue and flock of the Cabinet in a low-key arrival. The crown Prince was to dedicate Sunday, in personal time before a two-day official visit. The Royal family owns luxury real estate in France, including the mansion on the Riviera.
For human rights organizations, the changes caused by the crown Prince, often called MBS, are cosmetic.
The demonstrators had planned protests in Saudi Arabia of the coalition air strikes in Yemen to fight Iran rebels-Houthis. Ten human rights organizations asked him to demand that Saudi Arabia stop the air strikes and would lift the blockade which exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Executive Director of human rights watch Kenneth Roth told the French President on Twitter Sunday to “keep your distance — from war crimes MBS in Yemen and the continuing oppression of women and dissidents at home.”
The two leaders will discuss the war in Yemen and Syria, Iran — a regional rival of Saudi Arabia in combating terrorism and the financing of terrorism, a French official.
Prince Mohammed arrives in France after a nearly three-week trip to the USA, which was preceded by a three-day visit to the UK. The Prince ended his journey in the U.S. with more than 2.3 in the promised arms sales billion dollars and 1.3 billion dollars in the artillery.
France, traditionally the main supplier of weapons to the Saudis, rejected questions about large contracts for the supply of weapons during this trip.
“We are absolutely not disappointed” in the lack of weapons deals, an official from the office macron insisted. “We want to be part of this new dimension” is the crown Prince, which is inferior to “new cooperation, less focused on isolated contracts and investment in the future”.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the visit.
Gulf dispute with Qatar — isolated Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — are unlikely to be high among the topics addressed, if at all, the official suggested. Four countries are cut in June Qatar land, sea and air routes because of its alleged support for extremists and close ties with Iran, Qatar categorically denies.
A ranking official of Qatar said during a recent visit to Paris that his country would welcome French mediation. He talks about sensitive topics on condition of anonymity.
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As aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contribute.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
