Macron hosts Saudi Arabian leader to enhance Gulf ties

PARIS

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Macron meet in Paris in 2023.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman on Aug. 23 for a two-day visit set to range from esports and economy to the war in the Middle East.

Several agreements on health, transport and energy will be signed on the second day of the visit on Aug. 24, according to a French presidential official, underlining the strength of the Paris-Riyadh relationship.

But the visit kicked off in a different style on the evening of Aug. 23 with Macron hosting the Saudi strongman, known as MBS, at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup hosted by Paris.

The event, which brings together the leading performers in esports ranging from computer games to chess and has been eagerly backed by MBS, is being held outside Saudi Arabia for the first time.

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally that has a history of tensions with Iran, is also closely watching developments in the Islamic Republic in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war.

On Aug. 24, the two leaders are set to chair the first meeting of the Saudi-French strategic partnership council, media reports said.

They “will discuss key regional issues in a context calling for close coordination between France and its Gulf partners to foster stability and peace” in the Middle East, according to a written statement by Macron’s office.

It remains unclear if rights will feature high on the agenda, some eight years after dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside Riyadh’s Istanbul consulate in 2018.

A United Nations investigation described Khashoggi’s death as an “extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible.”