France supportive of King Abdullah's call to upgrade the GCC

A former French minister was quoted as saying that France views as positive the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to move the GCC from the phase of cooperation to the phase of union, leaving it open for the concerned countries to choose what suits them. In remarks to the Saudi Press Agency following a debate organized by the Diplomatic Studies Institute in Riyadh today, Hobie Phedre In, France's former foreign minister said his country and Saudi Arabia share a real deep-rooted partnership. He said France sees the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a leading country in the Middle East with heavy political and economic leverage which was further weighed by its membership of the G20.