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.
