Daily Press Briefing
Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
(excerpts)
(Paris, June 7, 2006)
[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]
IDPF/UNITAID
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will go to Munich tomorrow to take part in the press conference that is being given, at 3 p.m., by Joseph Blatter, head of the International Football Federation (FIFA), on the eve of the start of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
As you know, FIFA agreed to be involved in promoting the International Drug Purchase Facility, UNITAID, which is an initiative of France, along with Brazil, Chile and Norway. For the duration of the World Cup, FIFA will be helping to promote the project to facilitate access to treatment and drugs for the very poor.
More information is available at: www.unitaid.eu
At the initiative of the French Foreign Ministry and the Burkina Faso Ministry for Trade and the Promotion of Industry and Crafts, a salon on African fibers and materials is to be held in Ouagadougou on June 8, 9 and 10. The trade show, on the theme of fair trade, has been designed to facilitate access to markets by African artisans working in the fashion sector in view of growing consumer demand in France, and to contribute to the structuring of a textile and fashion industry in Africa.
About 50 artisan workers and producers of textiles, fashion and decorative accessories chosen from every country on the African continent will be gathering in Ouagadougou at the invitation of the French and Burkina Faso governments. The exhibitors will present a range of products: vegetable fibers (cotton, raffia, phloem, beaten bark), synthetic fibers, wools and silks, and weaving and dying techniques.
A jury will award prizes to three winners who will be allocated high-level training and access to production. Airline tickets for the exhibitors, accommodation, food and travel expenses will also be paid for by the organizers along with free transport for 100 kg of merchandise./.
Embassy of France, June 7, 2006