Paris: France and Saudi Arabia vowed stronger defence ties to fight terrorism and to tackle the threat posed by the militants of Islamic State (IS), the French foreign ministry said Thursday.
During the state visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz in Paris, the two countries expressed deep concern about current events in the Middle East, “mainly the growing danger posed by terrorism and extremism”, Xinhua reported.
The Saudi prince urged swift action “to fight terrorism as soon as possible before it will spread more”.
Both countries pledged to reinforce their defence cooperation. French President Francois Hollande and Prince Abdulaziz also signed a $3billion deal to buy French military equipment and weapons.
Both leaders said the ongoing conflict in Syria needed a peaceful political solution, such as the implementation of Geneva meeting that called for the creation a transitional government comprising the country’s different factions.
They also called on the international community to offer more humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees.
The Saudi prince and the Socialist leader also pledged to reinforce bilateral economic, social and cultural cooperation.