The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi met here today with French Minister of Industrial Renewal Arnaud Montebourg and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, the two sides discussed the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in the fields of petroleum, energy, gas and mining, and the enhancement of their strategic partnership in these areas. The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the strongest economy in the Middle East, noting that the Kingdom continues to further scientific and economic development, which requires to benefit from the experience of France in the technical fields. He pointed out that the Kingdom seeks to continue the development of various energy sources, including solar energy, through concluding bilateral partnerships with friendly countries, including France, which has been characterized in this field, stressing the importance of the role being exerted by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy as a party concerned in this regard, in addition to the large national companies that have invested in this field, such as Saudi Aramco. The meeting focused on that bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France in the fields of petroleum and energy, among other areas, has been present for many years, but the two countries are seeking to discuss ways to develop this bilateral cooperation, particularly in the fields of petroleum, renewable energy, mining, and environment, including the development of joint investments. The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Petroleum Affairs; Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, Advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; and Director General of Special Office of the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali bin Hussein Al-Tuwairqi.
