Meeting between Mr. Laurent Fabius and his Afghan counterpart (Paris, September 4, 2013)
Somalia – Attack against the Somali president
Meeting between Mr. Laurent Fabius and his Afghan counterpart (Paris, September 4, 2013)
Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will today receive his Afghan counterpart, Mr. Zalmay Rassoul. This meeting is taking place at a time when the transition process and in particular the preparations for the upcoming presidential elections – which are key to Afghanistan’s stability - are under way.
Following their meeting, the ministers will together open the Joint Cooperation Committee established by the French-Afghan Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2012. The holding of this meeting reflects France’s long-term commitment alongside Afghanistan. It will facilitate the joint monitoring of civil cooperation projects, notably in the areas of energy, health, education and agriculture. It will also make it possible to reaffirm the reciprocal commitments made in 2012 at the Tokyo conference on the development of Afghanistan.
Mr. Rassoul, a former student of the French-Afghan Lycée Esteqlal in Kabul who earned his medical degree from the University of Paris, has made a significant contribution to the development of our bilateral relations in recent years. Mr. Laurent Fabius will bestow upon Mr. Zalmay Rassoul the insignia of Commander of the Legion of Honor.
Somalia – Attack against the Somali president
France utterly condemns the attack carried out on September 4 against the convoy belonging to President Hassan Sheik Mohamud near the city of Merca.
A few days ahead of the international conference due to take place in Brussels on September 16 which should enable Somalia to receive reconstruction aid, France reaffirms its full support for the president and the institutions in their efforts to promote stability, security, human rights, democracy and development.