The Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir met here Tuesday with senior media editors in France and the media delegation accompanying HRH the Crown Prince in his official visit to France which included President of Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Abdullah Al-Hussein and Chairman of Saudi journalists Khalid Al-Malik. The Foreign Minister said that the visit of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince, the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, to the French Republic comes under the directive of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He described the visit of HRH the Crown Prince to France as historic and will open wide horizons for strong relations between the two friendly countries, pointing out that this visit dealt with cooperation in development and cultural fields that contribute to serve the programs of the Kingdom's vision 2030. He said that HRH the Crown Prince and the French President are united by the passion for development to serve their countries, and the two countries can achieve many achievements together. The visit of HRH the Crown prince witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and MoUs between the two friendly countries, he said. The Foreign Minister explained that the positions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of France are compatible toward the Palestinian issue, Yemeni crisis and the issues of the African Sahel, in addition to joint coordination in the fight against extremism and terrorism. The two countries also cooperate closely in various fields. Regarding the Yemeni crisis, the Foreign Minister affirmed that the war in Yemen was not the choice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but was imposed upon it as a result of the coup of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia against the legitimate Yemeni government. Without the Kingdom's response to the appeal of the Yemeni President and the Yemeni legitimate government, Yemen would have been divided between the new Hezbollah in the north and Al-Qaeda terrorist organization in the south, the Foreign Minister said. He added that the Houthi terrorist militia recruited children, seized humanitarian aid and hindered its access to cities and villages, creating difficult humanitarian conditions in some areas of Yemen. He said that the Kingdom is working and cooperating with the UN Secretary-General's envoy to Yemen and international organizations, but the Houthi militia has broken all agreements and obstructed all the solutions put on the table. --More 03:46 LOCAL TIME 00:46 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1750731
