Mohammed bin Salman is back in Europe for the second time in a year. The Saudi crown prince and prime minister – internationally ostracized for a while after 2018 for his alleged responsibility for the murder of critical Saudi publicist Jamal Khashoggi – has long since returned to the international stage as if nothing had happened. His country is simply too rich and too important to ignore, so the reasoning in Western capitals, where Saudi Arabia’s turn to China is also being observed with concern.
The central European point of contact for the Saudis is and will remain France. After a short working lunch with President Emmanuel Macron last July, at the time there were still loud protests from human rights activists, MbS, as Mohammed bin Salman is often called, is now returning to Paris. The most important man in the Gulf kingdom stayed in the French capital for more than a week.
Mohammed bin Salman wants to meet as many state leaders as possible in Paris
This Friday he will meet Macron. The topics, according to Élysée: bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East, “the big international issues”, especially the war in Ukraine, and the financial summit next week, to which Macron invited heads of government from many countries, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz . MbS will also take part in the Le Bourget air show, witness the first flight of an aircraft from its new national airline, Riyadh Air, and may announce some Airbus orders.
According to French media reports, the focus of the stay is something else: MbS wants to meet as many state leaders as possible in Paris, accompanied by several ministers, in order to promote the awarding of the World Exhibition 2030 to his country. 2030 is about the time frame within which he wants to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-fixated country into a pioneer in the ecological conversion of the industrialized countries. MbS takes the promotional tour so seriously that it is said that he does not reside in his Louveciennes palace on the outskirts of Paris, but in the city center.
France sees every reason to maintain relations with Saudi Arabia. They are “changeable”, he quotes Figaro a French diplomat. In Paris, it is regretted that France is no longer the privileged substitute partner after the USA, whose relationship with Saudi Arabia is only slowly improving again. China seems to be taking on this role more and more. The tenth Arab-Chinese economic summit has just ended in the Saudi capital Riyadh. In the Saudi media, the meeting is celebrated as a “mega event” at which around 3,500 decision-makers from business and politics from more than 26 countries came together – including the largest delegation from China of all time, as reported by Reuters.
In 2018, MbS and Macron agreed on a deal worth millions
The Kingdom and China announced investment deals worth $10 billion. According to the state news agency SPA, 30 agreements have been signed, including in the areas of technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, mining, tourism and healthcare. The summit is just another sign of the shifting balance of power in the Middle East, coming so shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the UK. The proximity of Saudi Arabia to Russia and the détente between Riyadh and Tehran, for which China is said to have served as an alleged mediator, are also viewed critically in Paris.
It is all the more important for Macron that there are still bilateral projects between France and Saudi Arabia, for example in the field of culture: in April 2018 he agreed on a million dollar deal with MbS. The oasis city of Al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia is said to attract between 1.5 and 2.5 million tourists a year – following the example of the Emirates. Abu Dhabi bought the Louvre name for around 700 million euros for a period of 30 years. Star architect Jean Nouvel is now building a luxury resort in the Saudi desert, which should be completed by the end of the year.