RIYADH: Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, on Thursday stressed the urgent need to conserve and protect the environment.
Delivering the keynote address on the last day of the Misk Global Forum 2017 in the Saudi capital, he said that using new technology and renewable energy is an inspiration to the world.
Renewable energy — sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat— is preferred since it does not pollute or exacerbate environmental pollution.
He said that understanding the environmental problem is not “really an option but a necessity,” adding that “we must be open to dialogue to discuss it.”
Le Drian added that Saudi youths travel to study abroad and learn as well as get training from French companies.
“The Saudi youth are an engine of growth in creating new companies if and when they come back to the Kingdom,” the French foreign minister said.
He said that his country is a land of culture, has several top schools, and is undergoing a massive digital transformation.
“We want to be an active participant in the digital revolution,” he said, adding that French companies hire youths under 30 years of age.
The minister said his government is creating a suitable atmosphere for creativity for Saudi youths if and when they decide to work and live in France.
Saudi Arabia wants to be a major partner in French firms and the Misk Foundation makes this possible, he said.
He said that the initiatives of the Misk Foundation in various fields should be a source of ideas in developing further and stronger relationships between France and Saudi Arabia.
Through the initiative of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, this source of ideas is needed to develop the skills and knowledge of the youth, said the minister.
This will also engender improved bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and France, he added.
France offers high-quality education to Saudi youths
France offers high-quality education to Saudi youths
Saudi Arabia welcomes US designation of Sudan’s Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organization
- Kingdom’s FM lauds decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Prince Faisal bin Farhan says decision bolsters regional security
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has welcomed the US government’s decision to designate the Sudan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
The minister expressed his support for the decision during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a statement issued by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
During the call, Prince Farhan said the Kingdom supports Washington’s measures that strengthen regional stability and security.
Rubio issued a press statement on March 9 announcing that the Department of State was “designating the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and intends to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, effective March 16, 2026.”
He also claimed, without providing evidence in the statement, that the “Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood uses unrestrained violence against civilians to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan and advance its violent Islamist ideology.
“Its fighters, many receiving training and other support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have conducted mass executions of civilians.”
He added that the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood’s Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade was designated in September 2025 “for its role in Sudan’s brutal war.”
