Laurent Fabius, COP21 President, will this evening receive the African ministers taking part in the pre-COP meeting for a working dinner to be attended by Annick Girardin, Minister of State for Development and Francophonie.

Africa is a key partner in the negotiations. The 54 African countries are among the countries most threatened by climate disruption. They represent a quarter of the parties to the Climate Convention, more than a third of the “77+China” group and two thirds of the least developed countries.

The French presidency is ready to listen to their concerns in order to ensure that we reach a universal, ambitious and lasting agreement in Paris.

Serbia – Visit by Harlem Désir to Belgrade (November 9, 2015)

Harlem Désir, Minister of State for European Affairs, will visit Belgrade today.

He will meet with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, President of the National Assembly Maja Gojkovic, Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali, Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister for Youth and Sports Vanja Udovicic as well as State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Roksanda Nincic.

Harlem Désir will express France’s solidarity following the kidnapping on November 8 in Libya of officials from the Embassy of Serbia, whose immediate release we are calling for.

He will take stock of the development of relations with the EU in view of the progress made in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. He will work on strengthening bilateral trade ties and will notably discuss the challenges of regional cooperation and infrastructure development.

Harlem Désir will visit the refugee orientation and reception center in Miksaliste. In the run-up to the conference on the Balkans that France will host in 2016, they will exchange views with all of the actors on the ground and will reaffirm our commitment to providing a European response to the refugee crisis.

Germany – Matthias Fekl’s trip to Berlin (Novembre 10, 2015)

Matthias Fekl, minister of state for foreign trade, the promotion of tourism, and French nationals abroad, will attend the second edition of the French-German Business Forum in Berlin on November 10.

Co-hosted by the economic dailies Les Echos and Handelsblatt, this forum brings together political, union, industrial, and financial decision-makers from both countries to discuss economic issues of current importance. This visit comes in the wake of Mr. Fekl’s trip to Berlin on September 28 for the global Invest in France campaign.

During his trip, Mr. Fekl will work with his counterpart Matthias Machnig, state secretary at the federal ministry for economic affairs and energy, on the challenges of the European commercial policy and on expanding our bilateral relations.

Syria – Chemical attacks / OPCW report (Novembre 6, 2015)

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has given its member states three new reports by the fact-finding mission on chemical attacks in Syria.

Two of these confirm the use of chemical weapons. The first offers no details indicating who is responsible. The second, which concerns Idlib, points to the systematic use of helicopters, suggesting the regime’s responsibility.

The OPCW’s mandate is to establish facts. It is now up to the UN and this organization, using the investigation and attribution mechanism, to identify those responsible.

The chemical attacks in Syria must be thoroughly investigated to ensure that they no longer occur and that those responsible for them be held accountable

Chad – Attack (Novembre 8, 2015)

France condemns the attack committed on November 8 in Ngouboua, Chad, which left three dead and more than a dozen injured.

We offer our condolences to the victims’ families and to the authorities of Chad.

France stands alongside Chad in the fight against terrorism.