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Business France organised the Vision Golfe 2026 forum in Paris on June 18 and 19, attracting more than 1,200 participants that included five ministers, senior government officials and business leaders from France and all GCC states. The programme encompassed 13 high-level panel discussions featuring over 80 speakers together with more than 2,000 business-to-business meetings that reflected deepening economic momentum between the two sides. French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness Nicolas Forissier reported that trade between France and GCC countries reached nearly €25 billion ($29 billion) in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Mudaifer described the Kingdom’s mining sector as a strategic element of its economic transformation agenda during the sessions, according to forum summaries. Water security emerged as a priority area, with industry leaders pointing to innovation, circular resource management and public-private partnerships as vital responses to rising regional pressures. GCC states have established themselves as global leaders in infrastructure resilience, which opens pathways for French capabilities in water treatment, environmental services and sustainable urban projects, participants at the event noted.
Forum organisers announced several concrete agreements that moved discussions toward implementation, including a partnership between French quantum computing company Quandela and Qatar’s Mekdam Holding Group to expand advanced technology cooperation. SEMMARIS, the operator of the Rungis International Market, signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi Food Hub to strengthen agri-food supply chains and bolster regional food resilience. These outcomes illustrated the gathering’s emphasis on delivering measurable results across energy, industrial and technology domains.
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure said stronger ties across trade, technology and industry can help build long-term prosperity and support regional stability. Gulf representatives echoed this assessment by underlining decades of successful collaboration and shared objectives in sustainable development. Discussions further examined artificial intelligence, smart cities, logistics, cybersecurity, space and defence technologies as enablers of future growth.
The GCC Statistical Center reported that the bloc’s merchandise foreign trade volume excluding intra-GCC exchanges rose 7.4 percent to $1.6 trillion in 2024, situating the France-GCC relationship within a rapidly expanding regional economy. The Observatory of Economic Complexity data showed France recording a positive trade balance of $4.07 billion with the United Arab Emirates in 2024. Such statistics point to established commercial foundations that the forum sought to broaden into higher-value investment and technology domains.
Participants at the forum dedicated sessions to human capital development, stressing the importance of technology transfer, joint research initiatives and talent mobility to sustain long-term competitiveness. They called for accelerated skills partnerships and lifelong learning programmes that align with both the GCC’s diversification strategies and French expertise in advanced sectors. The event consolidated France’s position as a key partner for the Gulf in navigating shifts toward cleaner energy systems and resilient infrastructure.
