French Foreign Minister visits Khartoum on Friday ?
By Hussein Hassan Ibrahim
KHAROUM, Feb 19, 2004 (KUNA) — French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin’s scheduled visit to the Sudanese capital on Friday holds great importance within the framework of developing relations between the two countries.
Sudanese-French relations are very distinguished and have remained stable throughout the years, illustrated through the stand taken by Paris towards Khartoum during international campaigns against Sudan, leading to imposing sanctions on the Sudanese government, after the assassination attempt against the Egyptian President in 1995.
These Relations had witnessed great improvement since the meeting held last year in Paris between the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and his fellow counterpart Jacques Chirac, in addition to their meetings on the sidelines of the African-French summit, hosted by Yaound.
Exchanged visits also included the French Minister of International Cooperation’s to Sudan, and the Minister of Commerce’s visit to head to the French delegation to Khartoum last month.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said Thursday that de Villepin will hold several meetings during his visit, dealing with the situation in Sudan, bilateral relations and African developments.
The Sudanese Foreign Minister added, his country seeks the supervisor post in the Francophone organisation.
Kuwait News Agency interviewed officials who stated that de Villepin’s visit comes within the framework of activating cooperation between the two countries in various fields, especially in electrical and cars production in addition to oil drilling.
The officials said that development of relations with France holds an international importance to the country, in addition to the influence of such relations on African neighbours.
The French Minister’s visit is aimed not only towards economic development and bilateral relations, but is an actual boost towards peace in Sudan especially as the visit comes within the current atmosphere of international political monitoring to Sudan.
Sudanese relations with the international community takes up a balanced scale, whereas its current efforts to develop relations with France is aimed towards preventing international accusations, clearly shown by the French side as it had taken a supporting side to Sudan and even encouraged a Sudanese-European dialogue.