JEDDAH — Dr. Louis Blin recently took over as the Consul General of France in Jeddah. Dr. Blin was born in 1957 in Marseille, France. He holds a PhD in Contemporaneous History from Sorbonne University (1986) in Paris. He joined the French Diplomatic Corps in 1995 after serving as a research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research, Cairo Branch, CEDEJ, 1991-1995, and as a journalist covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 1986 to 1991. Subsequently, he served as the Near East Desk Officer in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) (1995-99); the Deputy Head of Mission, French Embassy in the UAE, (1999-2003); the Consul General in Alexandria (Egypt), (2003-2005); the Deputy Head of the Security Department of the MFA, Paris, (2005-2008); the Middle East & North Africa Advisor to the Director of Strategy, French Ministry of Defence, Paris, (2008-2010); and the Head of the Security and Defence Cooperation Department (America, Asia and the MENA region) in the MFA, Paris (2010-2012). On the occasion of the French National Day, Saudi Gazette spoke to Dr. Blin on his tour of duty in the Kingdom.
What are your expectations regarding your new assignment in Jeddah as a Consul General?
Dr. Blin: First of all, I am very happy and honored to have been appointed as Consul General of France in Jeddah with a consular district covering the western coast of the Kingdom, including the cities of Makkah and Madinah, in which 2400 French citizens have their residence. For the French government, Jeddah is a major city in a major country, at international and regional scale. Under the responsibility of the ambassador of France, I will dedicate my stay here to the strengthening of the bilateral ties in the field of political, economic and cultural relationships. We expect a lot from mutual business investments in France and in this region of the Kingdom. There is also ground for stronger institutional cooperation regarding universities, research centers and culture or, for example, through the implementation of the bilateral agreement regarding justice and law environment. We will also try to convince more young Saudi students to go to French universities. I am very confident since the links between our two countries have been progressively deepened for almost eight decades. I am very impressed by the increasing number of Saudi citizens visiting France year after year. I visited Jeddah for a short and delightful trip 25 years ago, and I had since then a close interest toward Saudi Arabia and its culture. I very much look forward to meeting 21st century's Saudis, as I expect I have a lot to learn from them. My hope during my stay in Jeddah is to bring my own little stone to the deeply entrenched friendship between Saudi Arabia and France.
What are the particularities of the Consulate General in Jeddah?
Dr. Blin: The importance the French government attaches to its Consulate General in Jeddah reflects the status of this fascinating town where all national institutions still have strong branches. Our mission in Jeddah is also to provide support to the pilgrims coming from France for Haj or Umrah (45000 pilgrims last year). Jeddah and Makkah are also the host towns of major international organizations, which entail a specific role for the Consul General of France. The economic position of Jeddah is of paramount importance in the region and also explains the scope of the French presence on the west coast of the country. Finally, the diplomatic presence of France in Jeddah, one of the first foreign countries to have opened a mission in this old and cosmopolitan city, remains very important to us since Jeddah represents a symbol between past and future, Asia, Africa and Mediterranean, as well as between tradition and modernism. — SG
