His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khuraif, started today an official visit to the French Republic, which will last until May 7, including the capital Paris and the cities of Marseille and Toulouse, during which he will head a high-level delegation from the industry and mining system.

The visit aims to strengthen bilateral economic ties and develop cooperation between the two countries in the industrial and mining sectors, in addition to discussing joint investment opportunities in promising strategic sectors focused on localizing them in the Kingdom, led by the aerospace and food industries.

The visit aims to strengthen bilateral economic ties and develop cooperation between the two countries in the industrial and mining sectors, in addition to discussing joint investment opportunities in promising strategic sectors focused on localization.

Meetings with leaders of prominent French companies

<During the visit, Minister Al-Khorayef will hold a series of bilateral meetings with government officials and leaders of world-leading French companies in mining, aircraft manufacturing and food, including the Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial Sovereignty and Digitalization, Eric Lombard, the CEOs of Airbus, Safran, Orano, Sidel, Lesaffre and the Bel Group. These meetings will discuss expanding the horizons of joint cooperation between the Kingdom and the French Republic in the industrial and mining sectors, attracting quality investments to the Kingdom, building effective partnerships to take advantage of the promising opportunities offered by the specialized industrial clusters in Saudi Arabia, and reviewing the incentives and facilities offered by the Kingdom to investors.

Al-Khorayef's visit includes a tour of Airbus aircraft manufacturing plants in Marseille and Toulouse, during which he will be briefed on its industrial facilities and production lines, and is scheduled to witness the conclusion of memorandums of understanding with French companies to encourage joint investments, exchange experiences and transfer knowledge in promising industrial sectors.

The visit is expected to witness the signing of memorandums of understanding with French companies to encourage joint investments, exchange experiences and transfer knowledge in promising industrial sectors.

<The Kingdom and the French Republic enjoy close economic relations, as the volume of Saudi non-oil exports during 2024 reached more than 1.91 billion riyals, and the sectors of machinery and electrical appliances, organic chemical products, aluminum and its manufactures were the highest export, while the volume of non-oil French imports reached 18.20 billion riyals in the same year, and essential oils, electrical appliances and pharmaceutical products are the most prominent import sectors, and the official visit of the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources to the French Republic is in line with the objectives of Vision 2030, by developing international partnerships to contribute