Saudi Arabia and France have a long-standing friendship. France was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Kingdom in the 1930s. This relationship has often been strengthened by culture.
The first French-Saudi cultural cooperation agreement was signed in 1963, which paved the way for establishing the Arab World Institute in Paris in 1987. The institute aimed to build a bridge between Europe and the Arab League through cultural exchange.
This cooperation has also contributed to the sending of French archaeological missions to Saudi Arabia since 2002, leading, for example, to the discovery of the Nabatean rock art site in Al-Ula province in the northwestern part of the Kingdom, which became the first Saudi site to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2008.
The official visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to Paris in 2018 formally affirmed the strategic Saudi-French cooperation on various levels.
One of the goals of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is to open up to world cultures and transition the country from a religious identity to a national identity centered around modernity, with Al-Ula being a tangible manifestation of this vision.
Therefore, the establishment of the French Agency for Al-Ula Development, funded by Saudi Arabia and managed by French expertise, aims primarily to benefit from French expertise in engineering and arts.
As its name suggests, this cooperation contributes to transforming Al-Ula into an open-air museum. The museum covers an area equal to that of Belgium. It is staffed by over 100 archaeologists who have discovered rare artifacts, some of which have been loaned to the French Louvre Museum in an unprecedented Saudi initiative.
In addition to Al-Ula, other projects have been agreed upon, including hotel construction, environmental engineering, and equestrianism, totaling over 250 contracts worth 1.6 billion euros, expected to be completed by 2035, making Al-Ula a global center for sustainable tourism and attracting two million tourists annually.
The French Agency is also working on other projects in Saudi Arabia, such as the establishment of Villa Hajar, led by a French team. It is an innovative institution inspired by the model of cultural institutions in France.
The genuine French-Saudi relationship is now opening the door wide for Paris to play an influential role in Saudi Arabia's path towards modernity, knowing that the Kingdom is ready to invest its friendships with other Western countries in the cultural field to achieve its advanced goals.