Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s current state visit to France is his sixth official trip to the country since 2015, the latest milestone in a bilateral relationship that has been built visit by visit, agreement by agreement, across nearly a decade of sustained engagement.
The institutional architecture connecting Riyadh and Paris traces back to June 2015, when Mohammed bin Salman first traveled to meet then-President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace. That inaugural visit was immediately productive: it established the Saudi-French Permanent Coordinating Committee and generated 10 agreements valued at $12 billion, setting the scale of economic cooperation both nations intended to pursue.
Additional reference context is available at https://english.aawsat.com/gulf/5310247-gcc-secretary-general-holds-separate-meetings-south-korean-georgian-ambassadors.
A year later, in June 2016, Mohammed bin Salman returned to Paris as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 transformation plan moved into implementation. Discussions with Hollande and senior French officials centered on how bilateral cooperation could support the Kingdom’s economic diversification and regional security objectives. The third Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum convened during this visit, bringing corporate leaders together to identify investment pathways, and multiple agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed.
The arrival of Emmanuel Macron as French president in May 2017 opened a new phase. Just months into his presidency, Macron traveled to Riyadh in November 2017 for talks on regional stability, counterterrorism and peace efforts. He also publicly condemned a Houthi ballistic missile attack on Riyadh during the visit, affirming France’s solidarity with the Kingdom.
When Mohammed bin Salman traveled to France in April 2018, the first time since becoming crown prince, the partnership had matured into a multi-sector framework. The three-day visit produced 19 agreements between Saudi and French companies worth more than $18 billion. An intergovernmental accord on cooperation to develop AlUla, the heritage tourism site in northern Saudi Arabia, reflected how bilateral collaboration had expanded well beyond traditional defense and energy sectors.
By December 2021, when Macron returned to Saudi Arabia for talks in Jeddah, the scope had broadened further still. Discussions encompassed Vision 2030 implementation alongside emerging priorities including renewable energy, new technologies and tourism. Digital transformation and sustainable cities were identified as priority cooperation zones.
The July 2022 visit by Mohammed bin Salman came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global energy and food supplies. Talks with Macron focused on diversifying European energy sources and mitigating food security impacts, alongside ongoing regional issues in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran’s nuclear program. France also renewed its support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host Expo 2030 during that meeting.
In summer 2023, Mohammed bin Salman’s fifth official trip to France extended the partnership’s diplomatic footprint into global economic governance. He participated in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact and attended an official reception promoting the Expo 2030 bid.
The partnership reached a formal institutional milestone in December 2024, when Macron traveled to Saudi Arabia for his third state visit, covering both Riyadh and AlUla. The trip produced the establishment of a strategic partnership and the creation of the Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council, an umbrella framework codifying cooperation across politics, defense, economics, culture, energy and technology. More than 200 Saudi and French companies participated in an investment forum held during the visit, and Macron attended the One Water Summit in Riyadh.
Nine official visits exchanged between the two countries’ top leaders since 2015 have each introduced new cooperation frameworks and expanded the institutional connections between the two nations. The question now is whether the current state visit will follow that pattern and add another layer to what has become one of the Gulf’s most institutionally dense bilateral relationships.