United Arab Emirates, April 21st 2025 – As the global economy undergoes profound transformation, Vision Golfe 2025 emerges as a flagship event reinforcing the strategic partnership between France and the Gulf countries. Scheduled for June 17–18, 2025, in Paris, the third edition of this high-level forum will convene government representatives, business leaders, and decision-makers to explore new opportunities in investment, economic exchange, innovation, and sustainable development. Vision Golfe 2025 seeks to catalyze resilient economic cooperation, unlock joint investment potential, and foster strategic projects that lay the foundations for a forward-looking, sustainable, and innovation-driven future.
A New Era of Cooperation: From Bold Visions to Concrete Impact
With the theme “From Bold Visions to Concrete Impact: A New Era of Cooperation,” Vision Golfe 2025 will focus on translating ambitious strategies into tangible outcomes. Over two days, the forum will cover ten strategic areas of France-GCC collaboration, reflecting the breadth of opportunities across sectors:
- Energy Transition – accelerating the shift to clean energy and sustainable practices
- AI and Innovation – fostering cutting-edge technology partnerships
- Healthcare – enhancing medical cooperation and healthtech solutions
- Education and Talent – developing skills and knowledge exchange programs
- Agri-Food and Food Security – ensuring sustainable food supply and agro-tech innovation
- Smart Infrastructure and Construction – building resilient cities and smart infrastructure
- Luxury and Retail – expanding high-end markets and consumer experiences
- Sports and Tourism – leveraging events and tourism for economic growth
- Mobility and Transport – improving connectivity via land, air, and sea
- Investment Climate & Access – facilitating market access and a favorable investment environment
Program highlights include high-level sessions such as “Blueprints for 2030,” a ministerial panel charting long-term strategies, and “Innovating for Sustainability,” a forward-looking discussion on managing water, waste, and energy resources. These sessions, alongside ministerial keynotes and expert panels, will address opportunities and challenges in Franco-Gulf cooperation, encouraging pragmatic solutions and new partnerships for concrete impact.
Building on Vision Golfe 2024’s Success and Outcomes
Vision Golfe 2024 saw record attendance, with over 1,200 participants (including more than 500 from GCC countries) filling the forum halls. The event delivered tangible outcomes: significant agreements were signed – notably between the Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) and France’s Grand Port of Marseille Fos, strengthening maritime trade links, and between Export Bahrain and the French Chamber of Commerce to boost Bahraini-French business relations. Another key highlight was the announcement of a new “France Lab” at Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), underscoring France’s commitment to joint innovation initiatives in the Gulf. These outcomes from 2024 demonstrate how Vision Golfe turns bold visions into action, forging partnerships and initiatives that continue to strengthen France-GCC economic ties.
Building on this momentum, Vision Golfe 2025 will be inaugurated by senior ministers from France and the GCC, underlining the high-level support behind the forum. It will welcome leading voices in government and business – figures who seldom appear in public conferences, making their perspectives especially valuable for attendees. Their participation will ensure that discussions remain insightful, candid, and geared towards meaningful bilateral cooperation.
A Strategic Gateway for Gulf Investors into Europe
Beyond being the premier France-GCC business forum, Vision Golfe is also positioned as a strategic gateway for Gulf investors to access the broader European market. France’s position as Europe’s leading destination for foreign investment was underscored at Vision Golfe 2024, highlighting the country’s attractiveness as an entry point to Europe. The 2025 edition will reinforce this role: by convening investors, sovereign fund executives, and innovators, the forum will spotlight opportunities for GCC capital to engage with French and European ventures. Gulf investors will find in Vision Golfe a unique platform to explore Europe-bound strategies, leverage France’s robust economy as a springboard, and forge connections that extend well beyond France into continental markets. This aligns with France’s broader goal of facilitating two-way investment flows and encouraging GCC stakeholders to view France as a hub for their European expansion.
Trade Exchange between France and the GCC
Trade relations between France and the Gulf States are marked by dynamic flows of goods, services, and capital, driven by mutual confidence and a shared vision for long-term prosperity. In 2024 alone, bilateral trade between France and the UAE reached €8.5 billion, representing a 14.9% increase compared to the previous year. At the regional level, trade between France and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries totaled €20.9 billion, with €7.6 billion in exchanges with Saudi Arabia, €2.6 billion with Kuwait, €1.1 billion with Qatar, €0.7 billion with Oman, and €0.4 billion with Bahrain, according to French customs data. These figures underscore the strength of economic ties and the growing potential for further collaboration.
Beyond commerce, France is regarded in the Gulf as a hub of innovation, a benchmark for quality, and a strategic gateway to European markets. This multifaceted partnership is anchored in three key pillars: access to advanced technologies that support industrial modernization in sectors such as aerospace, energy, and healthcare; robust cultural and academic exchange that deepens educational and research cooperation; and strategic investment projects that foster job creation, economic diversification, and long-term regional development.
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