French President François Hollande and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and Chairman of Alwaleed Philanthropies, discussed key economic and investment matters, besides cultural issues, during a meeting at the French presidential palace, The Elysee. The meeting was attended by Ms. Hassna Alturki, Senior Executive Manager for International Relations to the Chairman, Kacy Grine, Advisor to the Chairman, and Ms. Shatha Alqahtani, Assistant Manager, Travel and External Affairs Department. It was also attended David Cvach, Advisor to the President of France for Middle East Affairs. In January, Flynas in which KHC owns a 34.08% stake, finalized a $8.6B deal with Airbus for the purchase of new aircraft. Moreover, KHC is a 5.8% shareholder in AccorHotels in a $3.2 billion deal. AccorHotels had signed an agreement with KHC and other investors for the acquisition of FRHI Holdings Ltd (FRHI), parent of Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel hotel brands. They also discussed bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and France, and the strong relations between Prince Alwaleed and France, especially KHC's investments in the country that are considered to be the largest Saudi Arabian presence in France. In 2006, Prince Alwaleed was bestowed the medal of "Legion of Honor," with the rank of Commander by former French President Jacques Chirac during an official ceremony at the Élysée Palace. The medal, which is the country's highest civilian honor, was bestowed on the Prince in recognition of his role in strengthening Saudi-French cultural, business and economic relations. In 2009 Former President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Prince Alwaleed with the "President of France Medal". In 2007, he was awarded the "Golden" medal by the French Minister of Culture and Communication.
