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BAHRAIN
Visit to the Gulf - Press briefing given by Dominique de Villepin, Minister of Foreign Affairs (excerpts)
Manama, January 14, 2004
THE MINISTER – Let me say first how happy I am to be in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and to discover a friendly country whose closeness to France I have been able to appreciate for myself. I have been very touched by the welcome extended to me and the warmth of the talks we have had. My talks this morning with Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak al-Khalifa were particularly fruitful and constructive, marked by the same concern for dialogue at a very important, strategic moment for the whole of this region. We need resolutely to look to the future and work towards the objective of more peace and stability, which means that we must be ready at all times to take the initiative. As you know, my visit to Bahrain is the last leg of my tour of the Gulf. We maintain a genuine partnership with all the region's countries, based on a convergence of views and interests on matters to do with both security, as mentioned earlier, and energy. This partnership will have been strengthened by the many meetings I have had in the course of my present travels. But I have seen for myself that there are high expectations of our country, expectations which certainly go well beyond the framework of our traditional cooperation. We want further to strengthen our political dialogue on the main issues facing the region and initiate action in all the fields where our companies and our country are already particularly active, in the economic, commercial and cultural spheres. (...) We have together taken note of the excellence of our bilateral relations, as witness the recent visits by members of the French government to the Kingdom of Bahrain: in the space of one year, the Kingdom has welcomed the French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Mme Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister of Defence, Renaud Muselier, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of State for Transport, Dominique Bussereau. France is looking forward to the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Sulmin al-Khalifa, which is going to be an important juncture in the development of our relations. As you know, France is ready to lend her full support to Bahrain's remarkable development efforts, which I have today seen for myself. I welcome the development of our exchanges in the field of the economy where, as you know, ALSTOM last July won a contract with ALBA (Aluminium Bahrain) to build a power plant and follow its development. Similarly, when it comes to the development of our exchanges in the field of cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, I would like to draw your attention in particular to the fact that France, through the archaeological mission at work in Bahrain since 1977, is taking part in the rediscovery of the ancient civilization of Dilmun, which gave rise to a major exhibition at the Arab World Institute. Finally, I have just had the pleasure of inaugurating the new premises of the French school of Bahrain, which has received generous help from the Bahrain authorities, making possible a high quality of French education in the Kingdom. I want here to thank them officially. Q. – You have spoken of a new security architecture in the region, in Kuwait too you talked about a regional security system. Could you describe for us the broad outlines of such a system, say what countries it's going to encompass, and whether there are points of convergence or divergence with the American vision on this subject?
THE MINISTER – You know, when it comes to security, that obviously means us all working together, and France's idea is to think about holding a conference which could be organized by the United Nations and would of course bring together all the region's States and the principal participants of the international community. The idea is that, immediately following a process leading to the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty, steps would be taken to ensure that the country's reintegration into the regional community takes place as smoothly as possible. (...) Security today is a global necessity, I have already mentioned the dimension of terrorism. It is a common concern, and we welcome the fact that at the last conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council held in Kuwait the idea of writing an anti-terrorism charter was discussed. I believe this kind of initiative is salutary. Giving formal expression to such an initiative at a conference would seem to me useful, the same applies to the proliferation of weapons, and respect for and stabilization of borders. We are all convinced that stability depends on respect for shared principles and rules. I believe that at that very moment, i.e. when Iraq recovers her sovereignty, it's important for all the region's countries to be able to move forward in the same direction. I have been struck, in each of the Gulf States I have visited, by the will to work together, make a collective effort and turn towards the future, and to make questions of education and culture central to this collective effort. I believe these are moves in the right direction. This region has not only genuine economic, technological and human potential, but also very important cultural potential. The fact of meeting, working together, defining a common will could, I believe, set a tremendous example. As you can all see today, this region is in a small sense the centre of the world, we all have our eyes turned towards it, keen to support each other's efforts to rebuild, to ensure the stability of Iraq and the whole region. That shows you that an important part of the world's destiny is being played out today here, in this Gulf region, and it's therefore wholly natural for us to think in terms of an international conference to mark the community's collective effort directed towards this region. As you see, this is a collective effort, it's in everyone's interest and we of course want to work hand in hand with our American friends. Q. – (...) Have international circumstances impelled France to strengthen her relations with the Gulf countries so as to play a strategic role in this region, both economically and culturally, comparable to the role she is playing in North Africa where her role and influence are very well known? And why, as part of your tour of the region, aren't you going to Saudi Arabia?
THE MINISTER – Relations between France and the Gulf States are long-standing, relations of friendship, and I would not wish to contradict you, but it so happens that we are one of the important economic partners of this entire region, among the leading ones, and we are ourselves the foremost partner of a number of Gulf States. This shows how involved we are, how aware and anxious we are to develop these relations in all fields and not just the traditional ones of oil and defence. (...) Our interest in this strategic region, as I have said, goes back a long way. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime is obviously opening up a new phase, but we are all aware and convinced of the importance of the region's stability, not just for each of its States, but more broadly for the international community. And it is France's desire – a desire by which we have always been guided – to make her contribution in the light of our principles which are well known and, I believe, widely shared on the international scene: principles of tolerance, respect for the law, conviction that security and collective responsibility are the best means of ensuring security and development. This is the thrust of our efforts, in collaboration with all our partners, this is what we have been working towards since the end of the war, since we have helped ensure the unanimous adoption of all the United Nations resolutions on Iraq, and we are happy to see, today, that the international community is together again in this new stage. (...) We are not here in a spirit of rivalry or competition, we are here because the whole world is facing the challenge of stability and development, of achieving the best possible understanding and dialogue between our cultures. As you know, this is a battle France has been waging for a long time. I have been to Saudi Arabia several times in recent months. I have had the pleasure of holding talks with my opposite number, Prince Saud al-Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz al-Saud, and meetings between French and Saudi Arabian leaders are very regular and very frequent. I shall very soon have the opportunity of seeing him in Paris, and of course returning to Saudi Arabia in the next few months. Q. – The European Union and France, in particular, are conducting negotiations with Iran with a view to creating a sort of open market, a sort of free market. I'd like to ask you whether the ban on reformist candidates from standing in the forthcoming elections will have consequences for the current negotiations?
THE MINISTER – You are right, we are engaged in a dialogue, we are going to try and find solutions to the very difficult question of proliferation, and we have initiated with my German and British colleagues a very important dialogue in this area which has led to a commitment by Iran to honour all her international obligations vis-à-vis the International Atomic Energy Agency. We want to go further, and the dialogue with the Iranian authorities is continuing. I shall be meeting Dr Rohani in Paris tomorrow, so we shall continue in this direction. Quite obviously, as concerns the requirement placed on all these countries, particularly Iran, that they should be more open – you have just mentioned the situation of the reformers – we want to see all these matters settled through dialogue, in the hope that the forthcoming elections in Iran may be free. It appears absolutely essential, in the context of the relations of trust we want to maintain with that country, for things to proceed in this manner, and I shall have the opportunity to say as much to Dr Rohani in person tomorrow./. Embassy of France in the United States - January 19, 2004
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