The Emir of Qatar commits to investing 10 billion euros in France

The Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani signed the agreement. Tuesday, on the first day of his state visit to France, an agreement relating to Qatari investment commitments à amount of 10 billion euros in the French economy the horizon 2030.

“We have signed an ambitious investment plan of 10 billion euros”, announced President Emmanuel Macron during the exchange of toasts with his host, at the opening of the dinner given in his honor at the Elysée.

“These investments will strengthen the strategic partnerships between our two countries,” added the Emir. They will intervene in sectors such as energy transition, semiconductors, aerospace, artificial intelligence, digital, health and cultural industries.

This first state visit by an Emir of Qatar in 15 years to France, and the first for Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, a perfect French speaker, since his accession to the throne in 2013, is a “huge honor for France “, underlined Emmanuel Macron.

“Your country is a friendly country of France, a loyal, strategic partner, on which it knows it can count in difficult situations” , added the president, recalling the common agenda of “defense and security” that the two States are “in the process of strengthening” or that in the “fight against terrorism”.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, ardent architect of strengthening ties with Qatar during his mandate (2007-2012), was at the table of honor, between the wife of the Head of State, Brigitte Macron, and the president of the Parisian football club PSG, Qatari businessman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, member of the emir's inner circle.

– Mbappé and Sarkozy as guests -stars –

From Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French football team and star striker of PSG, to the CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault or to Xavier Niel, main shareholder of the French telecoms group Iliad, the guests arrived at the Elysée to the sound of Viennese waltzes played by the Republican Guard.

Nicolas Sarkozy kissed the emir. The latter also exchanged a few words, almost complicit, with Kylian Mbappé, who announced his intention to leave PSG at the end of the season.

Previously, the emir, whose country plays a key role in negotiations with Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and President Macro reiterated during their talks their desire to arrive “very quickly at a ceasefire ” in Gaza, indicated the Elysée.

American President Joe Biden affirmed Monday evening that Israel had agreed to cease its military operations in Gaza during the Ramadan (which will begin on March 10 or 11), in order to allow the release of all Hamas hostages.

The release of the hostages is an absolute “priority” for France, recalled Emmanuel Macron. The Emir for his part denounced a “genocide of the Palestinian people”, with “forced displacements” and “savage bombings”.

Unloading of goods and materials, including ambulances, as part of a joint Franco-Qatari humanitarian aid program for Gaza, from a plane arriving from Doha at El-Arish airport, February 26, 2024 in Egypt © AFP – KARIM JAAFAR

Qatar and France signed a declaration of intent on humanitarian cooperation, particularly in Gaza, including a joint commitment of 200 million euros in favor of the Palestinians.

Three Franco-Qatari cargo planes also chartered humanitarian and medical aid to Al-Arish, an Egyptian town near Rafah, including 75 tons of freight, ten ambulances, food rations as well as nearly 300 family tents, announced the 'Elysée.

– “Two-state solution” –

The Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (c) welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron (d) and his wife Brigitte Macron for a state dinner at the Elysée, February 27, 2024 in Paris © AFP – Ludovic MARIN

The war in Gaza broke out after the massive Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, which left around 1,160 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

The military offensive launched in retaliation by Israel in Gaza has so far killed nearly 30,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

“The future of Gaza is being played out within the framework of a two-state solution with a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel and a Palestinian Authority strengthened at its head”, insisted the French president.

The Emir for his part welcomed the role that France could play to “establish justice of the two States”.

On Wednesday, the Prime Ministers, Gabriel Attal and Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, will chair an Economic Forum on investment opportunities between the two countries in artificial intelligence, decarbonization, semiconductors, biotechnologies and health.

The two States will also relaunch their cultural relations with an upcoming visit of the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, to Qatar.

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