Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic keep expanding, with close alignment on regional and international issues and diplomatic ties that go back a century, to France’s appointment of a consul to the Kingdom in 1926 and the opening of its mission in Jeddah in 1932.

High-level contacts gathered pace after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Paris in 1967 and met President Charles de Gaulle. In 1986 the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, then Governor of Riyadh, opened the “Kingdom Between Yesterday and Today” exhibition in Paris with Jacques Chirac, and in 1997 he signed a cooperation and friendship charter between Riyadh and Paris with Mayor Jean Tiberi.

A turning point came in 2018, when His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, visited France and 19 corporate agreements worth more than $18 billion were signed. President Emmanuel Macron came to Riyadh in December 2021, and the Crown Prince returned to France in July 2022 and June 2023, when he led the Kingdom’s delegation to the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact and attended Riyadh’s official Expo 2030 reception. In December 2024 the two leaders established the Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council in Riyadh, which they co-chair. Politically, the two countries co-chaired the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine in New York in September 2025, championing the two-state solution.

On the economic side, trade reached $11.5 billion in 2025, helped by the Saudi-French Business Council, reciprocal delegations and energy projects such as a 50/50 retail fuel venture between Saudi Aramco and Total that has upgraded over 55 service stations, with 25 more being built. France is among the Kingdom’s leading investors, with 650 French firms active in Saudi Arabia and 39 having set up regional headquarters. France also values the Kingdom’s role as a dependable crude exporter that stabilizes energy markets and supply chains. Partnerships align with Saudi Vision 2030 and France’s Agenda 2030 following the Saudi-French Investment Forum in December 2014.

Judicial cooperation, handled by an international cooperation prosecution office within the Public Prosecution, covers information and evidence exchange, mutual legal assistance, coordinated investigations, tracking internationally wanted individuals and recovering illicit assets, in line with national laws, international conventions and reciprocity.

In development and humanitarian work, the Saudi Fund for Development and the French Development Agency agreed in April 2018 on a SAR460 million (€100 million) allocation for projects in Africa and the Sahel. Joint aid for Lebanon by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Development Agency totaled $32,253,827 across seven projects, alongside $12,906,667 in Saudi scholarships for French students through 17 initiatives.

Culture, tourism and sport are also growing areas. A Saudi-French Ministerial Committee formed in 2018 guides AlUla’s development as a world heritage destination, and tourism cooperation moved into implementation in June 2026 with a joint plan on talent, sustainable tourism and AI-based travel technology, building on sports and youth agreements from 1987, 2018 and 2020. The Crown Prince’s state visit to France at President Macron’s invitation aims to maximize opportunities in investment, industry, clean energy, heritage, tourism, defense, space and advanced technology, supporting regional stability and global growth.