France to study building nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia

Paris will also train the Saudis on nuclear safety and the treatment of nuclear waste.

French president Francois Hollande greets Saudi Arabia's defense minister Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 24, 2015. Remy de la Mauviniere/AP Photo

PARIS // France could build two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia as part of multibillion-dollar deals signed on Wednesday between the two countries.

A feasibility study will be conducted into two European pressurised reactors. France will also train the Saudis on nuclear safety and the treatment of nuclear waste.

French president Francois Hollande attended the signing ceremony at the Elysee Palace, after pushing for the deals during a recent visit to Riyadh. They were announced after the first “Franco-Saudi Joint Commission” meeting in Paris, led by French foreign minister Laurent Fabius and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A high-level Saudi delegation is in the French capital this week led by Prince Salman, the Saudi king’s youngest son.

In one deal, Airbus will sell 23 H-145 multipurpose helicopters to Saudi Arabia for €500 million (Dh2.1bn).

Mr Fabius also announced a “commitment from Riyadh to acquire about 30 patrol boats “to enhance the capability of the Saudi coastguard, which is today facing growing threats”.

“It represents the creation of many jobs and hundreds of millions of euros,” he said.

Saudi Arabian Airlines has also placed an order for 50 Airbus passenger planes valued at US$8 billion (Dh29.4bn), a deal announced at last week’s Paris Air Show.

The French foreign ministry said three of the deals were worth more than $12bn. It didn’t put a value on the others, which probably involve several billion more.

The signing in Paris comes as Saudi Arabia is seeking to bolster its military capability while it is leading a coalition against extremists in neighbouring Yemen.

Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir yesterday urged more help from Arabian Gulf countries to help Yemen rebuild.

“Gulf countries should send their help to Yemen, so that our brothers could reconstruct their country and find a political solution and sign a peace agreement,” Mr Al Jubeir said in Paris.

“I hope that the Houthis will return to their senses and understand that they might have a role in Yemen, but that it should be done in a peaceful manner.”

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press