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March 10, 2006 |
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PRESIDENT CHIRAC CONCLUDES HIS VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA STRESSING THAT NEGOTIATIONS ON SIGNING COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF SECURITY AND DEFENSE BETWEEN FRANCE AND SAUDI ARABIA ARE STILL UNDERWAY. THE FRENCH PRESIDENT OPPOSES IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON A HAMAS-LED PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT AND STRESSES THAT FRENCH-SAUDI VIEWS ON LEBANON AND REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES ARE IDENTICAL. THE FRENCH FIRST LADY VISITS CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE DISABLED CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION. President Jacques Chirac of France left Riyadh after a three-day state visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At Riyadh air base, he was seen off by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Prince Miqren Ibn Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs; Prince Bandar Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the National Security Council; Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the Higher Commission for Tourism; Prince Mohammed Ibn Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs; Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor to the king; Prince Abdulaziz Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and Chief of the Court of the Cabinet's Presidency; Prince Dr. Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Ibn Ayaf Al Miqren, Mayor of Riyadh Region; ministers, senior civil and military officials; Saudi Ambassador to France Dr. Mohammed Ibn Ismael Al Al Sheikh; French Ambassador to the Kingdom Charles Henri d'Aragon; and staff members of the French embassy in Riyadh. France's President Jacques Chirac had arrived on a three-day official visit to the Kingdom. At Riyadh Airbase, the president and his accompanying delegation were received by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister; a number of princes; ministers and officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud and France's President Jacques Chirac held a meeting at the King's palace. At the outset of the meeting, the Monarch welcomed the French president, wishing him and his accompanying delegation a good stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On his part, the French president expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the King for a warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to them. During the meeting, they discussed the overall situations and latest developments at the regional and international arenas particularly the developments of the Palestinian issue, the situation in Iraq, aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them for the interest of the two countries and their friendly peoples in all fields. On the Saudi side, the meeting was attended by Prince Mishaal Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister; Abdullah Ibn Ahmed Zainal, Minister of State and Cabinet's Member and Saudi Ambassador to France Mohammed Ibn Ismael Al Al-Sheikh. On the French side, the meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Douste-Blazy; Minister of Defense Michele Alliot-Marie; Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Thierry Breton; Minister of Foreign Trade Christine Lagarde; France's Ambassador to the Kingdom Charles Henri d'Aragon and other officials accompanying the French president. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud held at his palace a dinner party in honor of France's President Jacques Chirac and his accompanying delegation. The party was attended by Prince Mishaal Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Bandar Ibn Mohammed Ibn Abdul Rahman; Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region; a number of princes; ministers and officials. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region held a dinner party in honor of French President Jacques Chirac and the accompanying delegation. The party was attended by Prince Abdullah Ibn Mohammed Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud; Prince Khalid Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Rahman; Prince Mohammed Ibn Saad Ibn Abdul Aziz, Advisor to Interior Minister; a number of princes; ministers; members of Shoura Council and senior officials. French President Jacques Chirac said that his talks with Saudi officials were held in "an atmosphere of understanding and friendship." Addressing a press conference in Riyadh, President Chirac reiterated his country's keenness on enhancing cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the economic field, and lauded the healthy investment atmosphere prevailing in the Kingdom notably after its admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO). "My country had supported the admission of Saudi Arabia to the WTO," he said. President Chirac hailed the existing military cooperation between the Kingdom and France, and said this cooperation will be enhanced further, in future. As regards the cultural cooperation between the Kingdom and his country, Chirac said France will organize next year a show on the Saudi arts. President Chirac said his talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz had covered a number of topics including issues pertaining to Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. The French president expressed support for the great efforts exerted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz to bolster reforms within the framework of the national dialogue and respect of Saudi cultural requirements. The president commended the existence of the Shoura Council and expressed happiness for the speech he delivered in the council. He said economic cooperation between the two countries is important and added that in the context of cooperation in the cultural field, France gives importance to Islamic art. The French president said that negotiations on signing commercial contracts in the field of security and defense between France and Saudi Arabia are still underway and have not reached a conclusion. On the Iranian nuclear issue, he said the international community will not give up trying to convince Tehran to respect its commitments. French President Jacques Chirac called on Iran to fully adhere to the will of the international community and respect its responsibilities regarding its nuclear dossier, in addition to implementing the international laws and the demands of the IAEA. Chirac expressed the concern of his country and the international community towards the Iran nuclear file and that the European Troika, made up of France, Britain and Germany, exerted major efforts to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, but affirming Iran's right to won nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. On the Palestinian situation, he said he opposes imposing sanctions on a Hamas-led Palestinian government and demanded that Hamas recognize Israel. Chirac expressed respect towards the will of the Palestinian people in light of Hamas' victory in the legislative elections. He called on Hamas to "give up violence" and recognize the state of Israel and to implement the agreements with the Palestinian Authority, in addition to the Oslo agreement to politically recognize the movement through its practice of democracy. He believes that imposing any sanctions on Hamas at the current time would have negative impacts. The French President expressed his support towards any initiative presented by Hamas that would achieve comprehensive and just peace in the region and the establishment of a Palestinian and Israeli state that live peacefully side-by-side. On Lebanon, the President said French-Saudi views on Lebanon were identical. He underlined the importance of Syria's cooperation with the international investigation in the case of assassination of Rafiq Al Hariri. He noted that his country shares similar view points to Saudi Arabia over the Syrian- Lebanese file, affirming France's support towards the international investigation committee probing the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Al-Hariri and the importance that all sides, including Syria, cooperate with the committee. He shed light on the international demands towards Syria to fully and unconditionally cooperate with the international committee. He affirmed France's support towards Lebanon to achieve the political and economic reforms for it to become an independent country. President Chirac affirmed that France shares friendly and strong relations with Lebanon and it respect the people's will. Regarding the development in Iraq, he said that he is worried towards the condition and security deterioration across Iraq. He stressed the importance of the national reconciliation between all the Iraqi sects for the national sovereignty and unity. Chirac hoped that the upcoming Iraqi elected government would stabilize the security in the country and stop the sectarian problems to guarantee the Iraqi unity for the welfare of the country and the region. The French President stressed the importance of the cooperation to fight terrorism worldwide, praising the efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia in this regard and its abortion of a plan targeting an oil refining facility in the eastern part of the country. Regarding the reform of the International Security Council, he noted that France support this initiative along with expanding its members. President Chirac stressed the importance of supporting the civilizations dialogue between the western and Islamic world and to promote the cultures and arts between the two sides, indicating that his country, along with Saudi Arabia and several Islamic countries adopted initiatives to encourage such activities. The French leader praised his talks held with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, describing them as "successful and fruitful". He added that the talks focused on the recent regional and international developments, the bilateral relations and the economic, trade, cultural, security and military cooperation between the two countries. As for signing an agreement to sell French weapons to Saudi Arabia, Chirac said that this issue depend on Saudi's desire and based on its interest. On the other hand Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Amin Madani met with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Douste-Blazy. They reviewed aspects of cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France in the cultural and media domains. The meeting was attended by Prince Turki Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Culture and Information, and a number of other senior officials. The Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr Hashim Yamani received French Minister of Foreign Trade Christine Lagarde. They reviewed aspects of commercial and industrial cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France. The meeting was attended by Dr Fawaz Al-Alami, the advisor of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and other senior officials. It is worth mentioning that the volume of trade exchange between the Kingdom and France amounted to SR 18, 202 million in 2004. The Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf received the French Economy and Finance Minister Thierry Breton . The meeting discussed bilateral relations, ways of their enhancement, economic developments in the region and the world and coordination at international financial institutions. The Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority Amr Ibn Abdullah Al Dabbagh held a meeting with presidents of major French investment companies on the sidelines of French President Jacques Chirac's current visit to the kingdom. The French executives expressed great interest in the available investment opportunities in King Abdullah Economic City. A number of them expressed desire to apply for benefiting from these opportunities after studying them. During the meeting, the French delegation was briefed on Saudi investment laws and facilities provided by Saudi authorities to local, joint venture and foreign investments. The delegation was also briefed on Saudi Arabia's licensing of joint and foreign projects of more than SR 200 billion during the year 2005. On the other hand the wife of the French President, Bernadette Chirac visited the society of the handicapped children within the framework of her tour of a number of charitable, social and cultural organizations. She was welcomed by a number of princesses and officials of the society. Madame Chirac highlighted the excellent services being extended by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the handicapped children. Wife of French President Jacques Chirac visited the Female Nahda (Renaissance) Society within the framework of her tour of a number of charitable, social and cultural organizations. She was welcomed by Princess Sarah Al-Faisal, the head of the society. During the visit, she was briefed on the activities of the society. French first lady Bernadette Chirac visited the headquarters of the Disabled Children's Association on a tour of the Kingdom's efforts to help the physically challenged. "I salute the Disabled Children's Association (DCA) for its yeomen services for the cause of the handicapped children in the Kingdom," said France's first lady. DCA Secretary-General Awad Al-Ghamdi, princesses and other key officials of the association, received Madame Chirac. While commending the activities of the organization, Madame Chirac said it has gone a long way toward achieving its goals. Madame Chirac was presented a welcome bouquet by one of the children as she distributed gifts among the children. Al-Ghamdi said such a high-profile visit would enable the French government to see the Kingdom's dedicated services toward the physically challenged. He said the DCA has more than 5,000 children in its network of branches in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Al-Jouf and Hail. Al-Ghamdi said that the Riyadh chapter of the DCA has 1,048 children on its rolls, the highest among the centers in the Kingdom. He added that two more branches would be opened in Asir and Al-Baha in the next four years. He pointed out that there are several French-speaking staffers in the DCA who are familiar with the French culture. He said he hoped that his organization could exchange experience with similar bodies in France. Madame Chirac also attended a reception hosted by President Chirac at the French Embassy. French expatriates from all parts of the Kingdom attended the function. Medame Chirac also visited the National Museum at the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA) and visited the Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women where she met a number of distinguished Saudi women in the capital and discussed matters of mutual interest. Madame Chirac was the former Deputy Mayor of Sarran (Corrèze) and is the founding president of the Festival of Sacred Art. She is also the Chairwoman of the Hôpitaux de France, a Paris-based organization that supports public hospitals throughout France. |
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