AlQa'dah 07, 1435, September 02, 2014, SPA -- Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, stressed that Saudi-French relations is currently witnessing a quantum leap, thanks to the keenness of the political leadership in each country to support and strengthen them in all areas and achieve the common interests of the two friendly countries. He said that the status of France in the international arena, its economic leverage and pioneering in many advanced industries make it a strategic partner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This came in the Crown Prince's speech during a meeting with French-Saudi businessmen which took part on the fringes of the current visit of the Crown Prince to France. He gave an account on the Saudi economic development in the recent years, citing that the gross domestic product doubled over the last decade to 540 billion Euro, pushing the Kingdom to the world's G20. Working hard to boost the country's foreign reserves, the Kingdom hit a 500 billion euro target in the last few years, he said, adding that huge money was poured in the health, educational and transport infrastructure. Most recently, the Saudi stock market, the Middle East's largest, opened doors for foreign investment, he added. Crown Prince Salman said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is generously supporting developing and underdeveloped countries, the international oil market and stock markets. He stated that youths under 20 constitute more than 50% of the population of Saudi Arabia, demanding economic planners to expand development programs of direct touch with the public within the concepts of sustainable development, finance of small and medium enterprises, and diversification of energy sources etc. He cited that the establishment of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy was a result of this thinking. He invited French businessmen to invest in the Kingdom, which he termed as among the most stable and invest-attractive countries in the world, citing that more than 70 French companies are now operating in the Kingdom in different fields. He concluded that supporting the private sector is a pivotal policy of the Kingdom, hoping that the current and future cooperation between Saudi and French private sectors would yield a systematic transfer of French advanced technology to the Kingdom. -- SPA 22:00 LOCAL TIME 19:00 GMT تغريد
