• France's Arab policy is based on the defense of its interests in the region.
• French diplomacy is as active as that of the United States in taking positions in the region.
• The Israeli-Arab conflict, almost uninterrupted since the creation of the State of Israel, directly and lastingly affects the international relations of Arab countries.
• The Palestinian territories are still gradually "eaten away" by the State of Israel, which is never worried and remains in total impunity.
• France has always had a broad vision of its alliance with the Arab world which embraces all sectors of activity, particularly the economic and cultural sectors.
• There is continuity in French policy vis-à-vis the Arab world, even during the left / right political alternations that have occurred in recent decades.
• On the economic level, for example, the Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce was created in Paris in 1970, to promote and develop commercial, industrial and financial relations between France and the Arab countries.
• In cultural matters, France also founded in Paris in 1979, the Institut du Monde Arabe, in order to promote Arab and Arab-Islamic culture in France.
• The Gulf countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, attach increasing importance to their cooperation with France (opening of a branch of the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi and another in Louvre Museum, close relations with the French arms industry).
• This consistency and determination to engage on the Arab scene have earned France notable successes which have ensured the appreciation of the Arab nations.
• human, cultural and religious ties, as well as the aspirations of the people of Arab countries towards a common future, form the glue that unites them.
• In the south of the Mediterranean basin, the Maghreb is the immediate neighbor of the European Union. France is trying without real difficulty to maintain its influence in this area coveted for some time by the interests of the United States and China.
• Attempts to create a large Euro-Mediterranean free trade area are struggling to change current north-south relations.
Today, a new "Union for the Mediterranean" project is being discussed. It intends to replace the Barcelona agreements and launch new development programs built on concrete projects.
• In recent years, total annual trade between France and the Arab world has fluctuated between 42 and 50 billion euros.
• At the regional level, the two major trading partners are the central Maghreb countries on the one hand and Saudi Arabia and the Emirates on the other (a large part of its French purchases are re-exported).
• With an annual average of 20 to 25 billion euros, French exports to the Maghreb countries still place this zone in first position with a volume of 52% to 55% of total French exports to the Arab world.
• The Gulf countries absorb a volume of 31% to 35% of the total (Saudi Arabia and the UAE reserving 70% of these purchases) and finally the countries of the Near East only carry out 13% to 16% of these exchanges. .
• French imports from Maghreb countries in 2008 reached 13.8 billion euros.
• In terms of foreign direct investment in the Maghreb, France also occupies the first place in all the countries of the zone.
• In the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia is also an important economic partner for France. In their trade, excluding armaments, Saudi Arabia was in 2009 ranked 30th among France's customers and 17th among its suppliers.
• The Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce is active in all areas that help consolidate all kinds of exchanges. Among her contributions, she welcomed at the beginning of this year in Paris, at the initiative of the French Embassy in Riyadh, a delegation of influential Saudi women personalities from civil society, some of whom are active in the business world or who work for women's rights.
• We also welcomed His Royal Highness Prince Khaled Al Faisal, Governor of Mecca and President of the Arab Thought Foundation which acts in favor of the dialogue of civilizations.
• Last March, at the initiative of the Consul General of France in Jeddah, we also welcomed a delegation of young Saudi entrepreneurs wishing to deepen their knowledge of France in its main political, cultural and economic aspects.
• Finally, I would point out that our Chamber was the organizer in Paris in October 2006 of the first Euro-Arab dialogue forum which brought together nearly five hundred Arab personalities and had