French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Le Cornu, will travel from September 6 to 11 to the Middle East, where he will visit Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Kuwait, according to what his ministry announced Monday.
The ministry said that the visit to Saudi Arabia, which is “the first by a French Minister of the Armed Forces in five years,” falls within the framework of “the dynamic of resuming talks” and will include a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.
In Kuwait, the minister is scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and discuss “cooperation at the operational level,” with the agenda of the talks including “military training.”
He is also scheduled to meet French soldiers stationed in Kuwait as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, an international coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
As for the United Arab Emirates, Locorno is expected to meet with Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Defense Minister Mohammed Al Bowardi. He will also visit French forces in the UAE, according to the French Ministry.
The two countries are bound by defense agreements that resulted in the stationing of a permanent French force in the Emirates of more than 650 members in 2009, in addition to huge arms contracts.
In 2022, French arms exports reached a “historic” level, reaching 27 billion euros, especially as a result of a contract under which the UAE purchased 80 Rafale fighter aircraft worth 16 billion euros, according to an annual report by the French Parliament.
