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Daily Press Briefing Statements made by [Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.] MALTA The Prime Minister of Malta, Edward Fenech Adami, made a visit to Paris in the context of "Malta Week." He met with the prime minister on April 3 and with the president on April 4. The meetings focused chiefly on the negotiations for Malta's membership in the EU and on bilateral relations. A dinner in his honor was given at the Quai d'Orsay. France unreservedly supports Malta's candidacy to join the European Union. It considers that the negotiations are going forward very satisfactorily. The main concerns of the Union were discussed, specifically the incorporation of community achievements in judicial matters and internal affairs (it will be up to Malta to play an active role in controlling the Union's external borders) and of achievements and progress to be made in the domain of maritime safety and state assistance, especially shipbuilding. In the bilateral domain, political and economic relations are excellent (France is Malta's leading partners) but they can be developed still further. The two parties agreed to work on this. An administrative arrangement in the health area was signed by Malta's Foreign Minister Joe Borg and the French Minister Delegate for Health, Bernard Kouchner. The latter presided at a dinner on April 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in honor of Mr. Fenech Adami.
GEORGIA Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine had a meeting, followed by luncheon, with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Menagarichvili. The meeting led to a review of the state of negotiations on the internal conflicts, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The minister assured his guest of our full support in the various forums of discussions--may I remind you that we are coordinators of the Friends of Georgia Group of the U.N. secretary-general. We have made three French officers available to the United Nation Observer Mission in Georgia; the head of the OSCE mission in Georgia is a French diplomat. The ministers also discussed the regional situation, especially in the Caucasus, and bilateral, cultural and economic relations. The Georgian minister made a point of Georgia's wish to accede to observer status in the Francophone organization.
IWO The International Vine and Wine Office, established in 1924, is an international organization with 45 members and headquarters in Paris. France took the initiative for convening a diplomatic conference to adapt the IWO to the growth in membership and the development of markets and production technologies. The diplomatic conference concluded its proceedings on April 3. The result is a revamped IWO. In December 2000, the United States announced that it would withdraw from the organization on June 30, 2001. The conference expressed the hope that the United States might keep its place in the revamped organization.
AFGHANISTAN (What is France doing in regard to assistance to the Afghan civilian population?) On the bilateral level, in addition to contributing to the Red Cross and subsidizing NGOs, France is providing food aid to the value of 23 million FF and humanitarian aid worth 5 million FF to Afghan civilians. May I remind you that at the last General Affairs Council, the minister asked for European aid to be increased and developed. France's aid to civilians through NGOs and international organizations reaches the entire Afghan population both in the regions controlled by the opposition and in the rest of Afghan territory. At the meeting between the minister and NGOs (March 29), these organizations stressed that it was necessary to continue dialogue with all the parties, including the Taliban.
GLOBAL WARMING (What is your assessment of the situation after the visit to the U.S. by the European troika?) The troika reported the unanimous consternation of the member states, as was affirmed at the European Council in Stockholm. What's important now is the cohesion of the European Union and pressure on the United States so that all the industrialized countries fully implement the Kyoto protocol on climate change without delay.
MACEDONIA (What is your position on the population census in Macedonia?) The OSCE considers, rightly so, that the census should take place in the best possible conditions and should consequently be postponed for a few weeks.
CHINA/UNITED STATES (What is France's reaction to the incident between China and the United States?) This is a sensitive matter. Direct contacts are taking place between Washington and Beijing. We are naturally following the situation. We have no further comment./. Embassy of France, April 5, 2001
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