Saudi Arabia Enhancing Cooperation with Europe: The Crown Prince’s visit to France and Greece

Just a month after his regional tour, during which he met with his Egyptian, Jordanian and Turkish counterparts, and only two weeks after US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, embarked on a European tour. He first visited Greece before heading to France with a view to discussing avenues to deepen bilateral relations, regional developments as well as areas of cooperation.  

On his arrival in Athens on Tuesday 26 July, MBS, accompanied by three ministers and a large delegation of businessmen, met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The meeting focused on furthering cooperation initiatives, including the finalisation of several energy projects, among which the installation of a long-awaited electricity cable that will link Saudi Arabia to Greece and, according to the Crown Prince, will help to provide Europe with more cost effective energy.  During a visit to the Acropolis Museum, they also signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the cultural field. During the visit, other deals were also signed, notably in the areas of security, maritime transport, and tourism with 17 bilateral agreements resulting from the visit. 

The Crown Prince subsequently left Athens for Paris where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron with whom he discussed regional and international developments, including the war in Yemen, food security, enhanced cooperation in the field of renewable energy (solar and wind) and hydrogen production in the larger framework of the fight against climate change. In view of the unprecedented inflation in energy prices since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two leaders also discussed ways to ensure stability on global energy markets. 

The current energy crisis, which has Europe fearing the worst for the winter, was at the heart of the discussions between the Crown Prince and European leaders. The press release issued by the French President's office at the end of the visit states that President Macron "underlined the importance of continuing the ongoing coordination with Saudi Arabia with regards to the diversification of energy supplies for European countries", without making any explicit reference to the oil and gas issue.  Subsequently, there has not been any significant increase in oil production by OPEC states, with OPEC saying there are capacity limitations preventing further increases. 

The visit of Mohammed bin Salman to two EU Member States had multiple objectives ranging from energy to stimulating foreign direct investment from the EU into Saudi Arabia.  As Saudi Arabia is working to diversify its economy, it is taking measures to build up a number of industries such as mining, tourism, and logistics. In the context of the EU Strategic Partnership with the Gulf, visits from leaders of Gulf states to European capitals are significant for building up diplomatic relations, essential to developing increased cooperation between the two regions. 

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