The Saoudi crown prince Mohammed ben Salmane in official visit in Paris

The Saoudi crown prince Mohammed ben Salmane is in official visit in France for 3 days with a cultural and diplomatic aim.

At the time of this visit, MBS as it is called will not occupy on the side economic nor of contracts to be signed. The subject will be evoked at the time of a forthcoming meeting at the end of the year in Saudi Arabia.

Accommodated Sunday by the Foreign Minister, Jean–Yves Le Drian, young the 32 year old prince could discuss from his points of view on his area and the crises which shake it. He has then to dine one–to–one with the President with the Museum of Louvre evoking on the subjects as the war against Yemen but also the principal rival of Riyadh which is Teheran, opinions being divergent.

Monday morning, it met the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and lunched with him in Matignon before going to the Elysium at 17:00 for a new meeting in the presence of the Foreign Ministers and Armies Florence Parly which it had met in his mansion of 16th.

Cultural agreements were signed. France will help Saudi Arabia to create an opera and an orchestra, after the signature of the Minister for the Culture Françoise Nyssen with his Saoudi counterpart Awwad al–Awwad, in agreement with the Opera of Paris.

Saudi Arabia also will take part for the first time in the Cannes Film Festival, with court–measurings, announced the Saoudi Minister for the Culture. It is for the ultraconservative country a beginning of opening with the Occidental culture.

A one 10 years duration agreement for the tourist and cultural development of the area of Al–Ula (north–western) particularly rich in archaeological remains and landscapes of exception was signed with the creation of an agency dedicated on the model of the agency France Museum, which controlled the setting–up of Louvre Abu Dhabi, inaugurated last November, the ancient city nabatéenne of Hegra (Madain Salih) or that of Dadab (Al–Khuraybah), and of the spectacular landscapes of canyons cut in sand of it are representations.

At the political level, the two countries wish to want to redefine their bilateral relations, the prince multiplies the signs of opening towards the Occident to prepare after oil; however remains a point seems sensitive, Paris is sensitive to cold vis–a–vis the competition between Riyadh and Teheran and the nuclear weapon. Indeed, France and Europe want to save the nuclear agreements whereas Riyadh turns to the USA which threaten to leave there.

Other diplomatic subjects were with the shutter of these exchanges like Israel and Palestine in Gaza, Syria and supposed the attacks chemical, the Lebanese elections in May.

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VERONIQUE YANG

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