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France expresses renewed commitment to Iraq
BAGHDAD - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Iraq on Saturday on an unannounced visit to underline the "renewed political committment of France" to the war-ravaged nation, diplomats said. Kouchner arrived in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq at the start of a two-day trip during which he was due to meet Vice-president Adel Abdel Mahdi, said a diplomatic source who asked not to be named. Mahdi, a Shiite Francophone who lived in exile in France, is one of the leaders of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), a key member of the governing coalition.
He is in Iraq at the invitation of President Jalal Talabani, the diplomatic source said. "This visit reflects the renewed political commitment of France with regard to Iraq and the Iraqi people," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued in Paris. During his stay, Kouchner will have talks with President Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. The French minister was also expected to travel to Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish region 350 kilometres (215 miles) north of Baghdad, on Sunday to open a French representative office. France has an embassy in Baghdad, but had announced it would also open two more diplomatic offices in Iraq -- one in Arbil and the other in the oil-rich port of Basra, 550 kilometres (340 miles) south of the capital. The visit will be "an opportunity to express the availability of France to work to promote national reconciliation in Iraq," the French foreign ministry said.
Posted by: Steve White 2008-06-01 |
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