Hollande, Alwaleed discuss investment, bilateral ties

03/12/2014 06:55 AST

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), met French President Francois Hollande during their visit to Senegal.

During the meeting, Hollande and Prince Alwaleed discussed political, economic and cultural matters. They also discussed the bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and France, especially KHC’s investments in France that are considered to be the largest Saudi presence in France through the ownership and management of the iconic landmark The Four Seasons Hotel George V, the management of Le Royal Monceau Hotel (Raffles), Euro Disney, Paris that was saved from bankruptcy by KHC and Walt Disney, and through the presence of Citigroup. Also Prince Alwaleed’s cultural contributions through Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation that has donated $20 million in 2005 to establish the center of Islamic Art at the Musee du Louvre.

The meeting between the president and the prince was also attended by Laurent Fabius, foreign minister of France; Hassna Al-Turki, department head, travel and external affairs; Fahad bin Saad bin Nafel, executive assistant to the chairman and Kacy Grine, adviser to the chairman.

Moreover, during the visit Hollande and the prince attended the 15th Francophonie Summit at the International Conference Centre of Dakar in response to an invitation from Macky Sall, president of the Republic of Senegal. The summit aims at further strengthening the current investment and economic relations within the Francophonie countries.

The summit was attended by state heads, vice presidents, prime ministers, ministers and senior government officials of countries, which have the French language in common on the theme — Women and children in the Francophonie: Peacemakers and key players for development.

In addition, Prince Alwaleed met with President Sall. During the meeting the two discussed economic and investment issues. The president commended Prince Alwaleed on his local, regional and international investments.

Arab News