French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday on a surprise visit, in a show of solidarity with Saudi Arabia amid Houthi attacks.
Mr Macron met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an unannounced stop on his three-day tour of the Gulf. He had already visited Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The Saudi Press Agency said Mr Macron was received at King Khalid International Airport – the scene of several Houthi attacks – by Riyadh deputy governor Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman and the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Patrick Maisonnave.
The French President is the first western leader to visit the kingdom since Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis intensified their attacks this month.
The visit is “to demonstrate France’s solidarity with the kingdom in the face of attacks launched by the Houthis against its territory, and to continue efforts aimed at securing and diversifying hydrocarbon supplies”, the French presidency said.
