PARIS: Saudi Aramco and the French oil giant Total signed an agreement on Tuesday to build a vast petrochemical complex in Jubail.
In total, $9 billion will be invested, creating 8,000 jobs in the Kingdom.
The deal was the highlight in a series of agreements between Saudi Arabia and France which rounded off a CEO business forum in Paris on the final day of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s official visit.
The two countries made agreements worth $18 billion, rubber-stamped by top representatives in a mammoth signing ceremony.
The final day of the crown prince’s visit shifted from building relations over culture and heritage, to business and finance. Accompanied by stirring music, business chiefs from several French companies mounted the stage for a theatrical exchange of documents in a building that once housed the national printworks but is now an offshoot of the French Foreign Ministry.
The crown prince met French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, who was accompanied by a number of French businessmen.
They discussed enhancing partnership and investment opportunities, including attracting promising investments aimed to localize technology and training Saudi nationals, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Fifteen memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed by Saudi and French companies at the CEO Business Forum. They included agreements between Saudi Arabia’s SABIC and France’s Schneider Electric on energy management, and SABIC and Orange on transfer of technology.
Al Arabia signed an investment agreement with multinational advertising giant JCDecaux; Axens, a global leader in converting oil, coal and natural gas to clean fuel, has struck a deal with Saudi refining and petrochemical company Petro Rabigh, and water management company Saur now has an agreement with a Saudi counterpart, International Aramoon Company Limited.
Saudi Aramco announced commercial cooperation worth a total of $12 billion with French firms.
These included deals with Veolia and Dussur for industrial wastewater treatment and a corporate purchase agreement signed with TechnipFMC for wellhead and surface-control equipment.
Several other agreements were also signed with Suez and Dussur, the Arab World Institute and the Pompidou Center.
“With Vision 2030, I believe there are more opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, not only in the oil and gas sector but also in infrastructure, manufacturing and services industries, which are critical to manage and operate an enterprise like Saudi Aramco,” said Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser.
Meanwhile, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan told AFP that Aramco’s hotly awaited stock market debut would be launched in 2018 if market conditions permit, otherwise in 2019.
“If the market is ready in 2018, we will go in 2018. If not, we will wait until 2019,” he said.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian inaugurated the CEO event, which was organized by the Saudi Center for Strategic Partnerships.
Le Drian highlighted 50 years of relations between Saudi Arabia and France and the importance of enhancing security, stability, energy, economy, science, culture and technology between the two countries.
He said France is the third biggest foreign investor in the Kingdom after the US and Kuwait, and that 80 French companies are operating in Saudi Arabia with more than 27,000 Saudi jobs, of which 20,000 are in the energy sector.
Saudi Aramco to build vast oil complex with Total
Saudi Aramco to build vast oil complex with Total
- Saudi Aramco announced commercial cooperation worth a total of $12 billion with French firms
- France is the third biggest foreign investor in the Kingdom
Related
KSrelief launches date distribution project in Sudan
Riyadh: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has launched a date distribution project in Port Sudan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The event was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Ali bin Hassan Jafar, Sudanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Abu Bakr Omar Al-Bushra, and Acting Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed Othman.
The project will distribute 441 tonnes of dates to the neediest families across Kassala, Gedaref, Red Sea, River Nile, Blue Nile, White Nile, Sennar, and Gezira states, benefiting 441,250 individuals.
Jafar reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to providing food aid and praised the collaboration between the Sudanese government and KSrelief in ensuring the aid reaches those in need.
Al-Bushra expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s support during challenging times.
Othman emphasized KSrelief’s vital role in addressing food security challenges during the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, KSrelief distributed 1,100 food baskets and 1,100 health kits in Tal Abyad, in the Raqqa governorate of Syria, benefiting 6,600 individuals as part of the earthquake relief project.
Saudi Arabia hosts international conference to mark 3 decades of conjoined twins program
- Families of separated twins will also attend the event
- An exhibition will also be organized to showcase the program’s achievements
Riyadh: Saudi aid agency KSrelief will host an international conference in Riyadh on Nov. 24-25 marking three decades of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program.
It will bring together the Saudi ministries of health, national guard, defense, foreign affairs, education and media, and representatives from international humanitarian and health organizations, institutions, specialists and researchers from various countries.
Families of separated twins will also attend the event.
The conference will witness humanitarian and scientific sessions where experts will discuss advances in conjoined twin separation and related humanitarian efforts.
An exhibition will also be organized to showcase the program’s achievements as well as the Kingdom’s leadership in humanitarian and medical fields, especially excellence through the conjoined twins program.
“This comes in order to achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at developing the health and humanitarian sector in the Kingdom and raising its quality and efficiency,” said KSrelief in a statement to Arab News.
On the sidelines of the conference, a number of agreements will be signed with international and UN organizations concerned with children around the world as part of the humanitarian efforts of Saudi Arabia to care for the most vulnerable groups, namely children, as well as reviewing the Kingdom’s distinguished experience in this field, as it has the most experience in twins separation in the world.
The conference at the culmination will issue important recommendations that will enrich medical and humanitarian libraries and be a reference for specialists and those interested in the field of separating conjoined twins and the humanitarian field.
The pioneering initiative makes the Kingdom a world leader in one of the most complex surgical procedures in modern medicine. Since its launch in 1990, the conjoined twins program has treated about 139 cases from countries around the world. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who heads the medical team, has conducted 61 operations on conjoined twins born to poor families from 26 countries.
Conjoined twins Khadijah and Hawaa were airlifted from Burkina Faso to Riyadh in July this year by the Defense Ministry’s medevac, following the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and underwent the operation.
In June, the Saudi team led by Al-Rabeeah, separated Filipino conjoined twins Akiza and Aisha in at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital, which plays a crucial role in the program.
Equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities and advanced technology, the hospital is staffed by a highly skilled team specializing in complex pediatric care. Operations carried out under the program are fully sponsored by the Saudi government.
KSrelief provides shelter, winter clothing in Lebanon, Somalia
RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has distributed shelter and winter clothing to displaced people in Lebanon and Somalia, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
Orphans and those with special needs in Lebanon’s Akkar Governorate received vouchers to purchase winter clothes from approved stores.
The beneficiaries also included Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of the host community.
In Somalia, 920 shelter kits, 80 tents and 1,000 clothing kits benefited 6,000 displaced people in several camps in the Banaadir region as part of a project aiming to provide 7,600 shelter and clothing kits and 215 tents in the area.
Both initiatives are part of the ongoing humanitarian assistance provided by KSrelief to countries and people in need around the world.
Saudi foreign minister meets with US Secretary of State at Brazil G20
RIO DE JANEIRO: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, developments in the Middle East, and the efforts being made in these regards.
The meeting was attended by the Director-General of the Office of the Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Aldawood.
Saudi Arabia FM calls for peace, addresses global challenges at G20 Summit opening
- Prince Faisal bin Farhan leads Kingdom’s delegation on behalf of crown prince
RIO DE JANEIRO: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan led the Kingdom’s delegation at the first session of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which opened on Monday.
Prince Faisal, who is leading the delegation on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke at the summit’s opening session which was called “Social Inclusion and Combating Hunger and Poverty.”
Prince Faisal highlighted pressing global challenges, noting that increasing tensions, military conflicts, and humanitarian crises were significant obstacles to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, adding: “Development and prosperity cannot be achieved on the ruins of death and destruction.”
Moving on to the ongoing crises in the Middle East, Prince Faisal pointed to Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, describing them as sources of severe human suffering and catalysts which were pushing the region toward broader conflict.
He said: “The ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon has caused unprecedented levels of human suffering; is pushing the region to the brink of a wider war … and is undermining the credibility of international law and institutions.”
Prince Faisal reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to peace, stating the Kingdom’s unwavering stance on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance; the release of hostages; and a serious commitment to lasting peace based on the two-state solution according to the 1967 borders, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The minister also addressed the situation in Sudan, expressing concern over the severe human toll due to the conflict, and obstacles preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to affected communities.
In addition to political challenges, Prince Faisal commended Brazil’s initiative in launching the International Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which aligns with Saudi Arabia’s development and humanitarian objectives. He announced the Kingdom’s participation in the alliance, which resonates with its long-standing global efforts.
He said: “The Kingdom is pleased to be part of this alliance that is in line with its development goals and its global role in this regard, which is expressed by the programs of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (and) the Saudi Fund for Development, in addition to its global contributions to the programs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to support developing countries.”
The Kingdom’s delegation included Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Deputy Minister of Finance (Saudi Sherpa for the G20) Abdul Mohsen bin Saad Al-Khalaf, and Ambassador to Brazil Faisal bin Ibrahim Ghulam.
The G20 Summit in Brazil serves as a platform for the world’s leading economies to address global challenges and promote collective solutions aimed at fostering sustainable development and social equity.
On the sidelines of the summit, Prince Faisal met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. During their meeting they discussed US-Saudi relations, as well as regional developments and the efforts made in this regard.
