Today's Date:

QATAR/FRANCE

THE MINISTER – May I say how happy I am to be in Doha, the capital of a State which has always maintained very close relations with France, and I want to thank my Qatari hosts for their welcome, which matches the excellence of our relations.

I have had some very good talks with my friend Shaikh Hamad bin Jassem Jabr al-Thani, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which, as he has rightly said, we were able to discuss all the problems of interest to us.

We shall shortly have the very great pleasure of dining with His Highness the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, which is obviously a very great honour for me (...). My stop in Doha has particular significance for me because of the closeness of our ties. We found ourselves in very broad agreement on all the subjects we discussed. Everyone is aware of the continuous dialogue which takes place between our two countries. President Chirac had a meeting with His Highness the Amir on 12 May last year, I met my opposite number in Paris, and Mme Alliot-Marie also had talks with him in Qatar last year.

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On the bilateral level, I welcome the good development of our exchanges in the field of the economy, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, and defence.

There are many areas of cooperation. In the aeronautical sector, Qatar Airways, with its recent order, has become the launch customer for the A380. In the oil and gas sector, let me mention the investment by Total. We of course remain available to participate in Qatar's security and defence efforts. Finally, the cultural sector – which is very important for France – also offers many opportunities, as witness the French contribution to the creation of the Doha museum of Islamic art, with French architects Wilmotte appointed to design the interior fit-out. I want also to draw attention to the fact that ENI, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, has been commissioned by the Qatar Foundation to set up an important television project for young people. This should be up and running in the autumn.

IRAN/NON-PROLIFERATION/IAEA/LIBYA/NORTH KOREA

THE MINISTER – As concerns Dr Rohani's visit to Paris, I shall be seeing him on Thursday morning. Our talks will of course be essentially devoted to proliferation issues, and our hope, given the commitments undertaken by Iran, that we can continue to move forward in a constructive dialogue. It is essential for this dialogue to develop beyond what was decided in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and for us to make progress on non-proliferation; as you are aware, this is one of our top priorities. Commitments have been undertaken by Iran, Libya has taken some important steps. As you know, there is currently an in-depth dialogue going on with North Korea, in the framework of the six. It is essential to press ahead in this direction, and we would like to see all countries, as part of a constructive and peaceful dialogue, taking part in these measures.

IRAQ/FRANCE/OIL

THE MINISTER – I welcome all statements which look towards dialogue and openness. We had a trusting, friendly and in-depth dialogue with the representatives of the Governing Council when they came to Paris, and I think today it's time the international community got together to work towards the reconstruction of Iraq. So of course we welcome any moves in that direction./.