The Saudi French Business Opportunities Forum was launched in Paris today in the presence of Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabee'a, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Minister of External Trade of France Nicole Bricq. In a key address, the Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce Jan Piorley said the chamber represents 800,000 French companies, a prominent number of them working in Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years and is planning to attract major, medium and small Saudi companies in its international development strategy, given the Kingdom's vast potentials in the region. For his part, Dr. Mohammed Ali bin Laden, Chairman of the Saudi French Business Council, confirmed the role of the Kingdom in effective development in the region and extending the bridges of contact with other counties of the world at all levels, citing the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud on dialogue among followers of religions and cultures, which was crowned with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Center for Dialogue among Followers of Religions and Culture in Vienna. He said Saudi Arabia and France have forged a strategic partnership since the historic meeting between then President of France Charles De Gaulle in 1976, noting that Saudi Arabia is a strategic factor for the stability of the region amid the current instability of the Arab world. He said the Kingdom's Gross Domestic Product was $727 billion and that its monetary reserves comes second to China, the economic growth amounted to 4.9% in 2012 and the general debt less than 4% of the GDP. For her part, Minister Bricq said Saudi Arabia enjoys very strong economic force, and vast production and diversified energy sources in addition to a firm financial system that was steadfast in the face of the recent international financial crisis. She said the forum would upgrade the level of international relations between the two countries including the commercial and economic relations enhancement. Ascending the podium, Dr. Al-Rabee'a thanked the French government for hosting the first Saudi French Business Opportunities Forum and other organizers from the two sides. He confirmed the keenness of the Kingdom to promote its commercial ties with its key partners, citing the holding of similar fora with the United States and Japan. He considered the event an opportunity for the private sector to take the investment chance in the two countries. He said France was the 8th among Saudi Arabia's the biggest exporting partners and the 15th among Saudi Arabia's biggest importing partners as the trade exchange size between the two countries amounted to SR44 billion. Saudi Arabia enjoys an industrial base in several fields and made great strides in the food, plastic, cement and iron industries, he said, adding that the Kingdom is serious to reach other world countries as an industrial exporter. He gave an account on the facilities Saudi Arabia is offering to foreign investors, including the recent political, administrative and commercial reforms. He pointed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques scholarship program from which more than 172,000 female and male students benefited, some of them are currently in France. He said Saudi Arabia's Internatioanl trade size has increased over the last five years from $429 billion to $497 billion in 2011. It ranked first in the region as the most attractive of direct foreign investments among the developing markets in the Middle East and Africa, Al-Rabee'a concluded.
