Saudi Arabia and France have reaffirmed their commitment to expanding investment and economic cooperation, with French foreign direct investment stock in the Kingdom reaching €16.3 billion in 2024, doubling over five years.
The French-Saudi Investment Roundtable Meeting was held in Paris on Monday as part of the visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to France. The meeting was organised by the Saudi Ministry of Investment and attended by senior government officials, business leaders and CEOs of major companies from both countries.
Saudi Minister of Investment Fahad bin Abduljalil Al-Saif said Saudi-French relations span a full century, while highlighting the strong alignment between French expertise in technology, industry, finance and innovation and the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030.
He said French investors currently hold more than 650 investment licences across 18 sectors, while France has become Saudi Arabia’s fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment.
According to the minister, Saudi Arabia’s GDP has grown by around 85% since 2017, rising from approximately €620 billion to €1.1 trillion last year. Non-oil activities now account for more than 50% of GDP, while investment has emerged as one of the main drivers of economic growth and diversification.
Foreign direct investment inflows reached around €6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, registering 2.4% year-on-year growth.
Al-Saif said the transformation under Vision 2030 had created new opportunities for French companies to expand their operations in the Kingdom. He identified energy, financial services, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, transport and logistics, gaming and tourism as sectors offering significant potential for investment and partnerships.
He also highlighted the long-standing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France in oil, gas and petrochemicals, while pointing to opportunities for deeper collaboration in renewable energy and clean-energy technologies.
The minister said the Saudi financial market remained open to foreign investors and described the Saudi Exchange as the largest and most liquid stock market in the Middle East and North Africa.
French Minister of the Economy and Finance Roland Lescure underscored the importance of the strategic partnership between the two countries, particularly in energy and logistics security. He described Saudi Arabia as a vital link between the Middle East and Europe in energy and logistics.
Lescure also highlighted the alignment between Saudi Vision 2030 and France 2030, noting that the French presence in Saudi Arabia had evolved beyond sales to include joint production.
The roundtable also included a session titled “Saudi Arabia and France: Partnership for the Future,” which examined opportunities to strengthen private-sector cooperation.
The discussions focused on financing and developing transformative destinations, advancing industrial partnerships into implementable projects, developing transport and logistics, and building the digital future through artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
Bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and France reached SAR44.2 billion in 2025, while French direct investment stock in the Kingdom stood at SAR63.9 billion in 2024.
