Foreign trade – G20 – Visit to Australia by Ms. Fleur Pellerin (July 17 to 19, 2014)
Central African Republic – Signing by Ms. Annick Girardin of the act establishing the Bêkou trust fund, a European multi-donor relief fund (Florence, July 15, 2014)
Fight against climate change – Appointment of Mary Robinson as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Climate Change (July 14, 2014)
Russia – Metro train derailment in Moscow (July 15, 2014)
Cultural network update – Australia – “Victor Hugo: Les Misérables - From Page to Stage” exhibition (Melbourne, July 18 to November 9, 2014)
Syria – United Nations – Adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on the delivery of humanitarian assistance (July 14, 2014)
Foreign trade – G20 – Visit to Australia by Ms. Fleur Pellerin (July 17 to 19, 2014)
Ms. Fleur Pellerin, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad, will travel tomorrow to Australia where she will meet with her counterpart, Mr. Andrew Robb, as well as Ms. Gladys Berejiklian, New South Wales Minister for Transport, in order to promote cooperation opportunities with France.
She will meet with representatives of French subsidiaries in the infrastructure sector and representatives of the community of young expatriates. This visit will also provide an opportunity to strengthen trade relations between our two countries: our trade surplus with Australia has increased in recent years (€1.7 billion in 2013), becoming France’s 5th largest trade surplus. Our country is also the 7th preferred destination for Australian foreign investment, and is the second major destination in Europe, after the United Kingdom.
Ms. Pellerin will also represent France on July 19 at the meeting of G20 trade ministers, in the presence of Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and Mr. Karel de Gucht, European Trade Commissioner. This meeting will be an important step in preparation for the G20 summit in Brisbane on November 15 and 16. The ministers will notably discuss the role of international trade in reviving world growth and the G20’s contribution to strengthening the multilateral trading system.
Central African Republic – Signing by Ms. Annick Girardin of the act establishing the Bêkou trust fund, a European multi-donor relief fund (Florence, July 15, 2014)
This morning, Ms. Annick Girardin, Minister of State for Development and Francophony, signed the act establishing the Bêkou (“Hope”) trust fund, a European multi-donor relief fund to promote economic recovery in the Central African Republic, on the occasion of the informal meeting of European development ministers in Florence.
This fund represents a breakthrough in terms of donor coordination and is open to European and non-European donors. With an initial amount of more than €60 million for 2014 and 2015, the fund is currently made up of contributions from the EU (€41 million), France (€10 million), Germany (€10 million) and the Netherlands. It is a further sign of European commitment in support of stabilizing the Central African Republic.
Fight against climate change – Appointment of Mary Robinson as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Climate Change (July 14, 2014)
France congratulates Mary Robinson on her appointment as UN Special Envoy for Climate Change.
The experience of Ms. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will enable her to mobilize the entire international community in the run-up to the climate summit due to be hosted by Mr. Ban Ki-moon on September 23 in New York and the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.
This conference, which will be hosted next year by France, should result in an international agreement aimed at limiting temperature increases to less than 2°C.
Russia – Metro train derailment in Moscow (July 15, 2014)
We were shocked to learn of the metro crash in Moscow, which according to the latest reports, left 12 people dead and injured more than a hundred others.
In these painful circumstances, France presents its condolences to the victims’ families and assures the Russian authorities and people of its solidarity.
Cultural network update – Australia – “Victor Hugo: Les Misérables - From Page to Stage” exhibition (Melbourne, July 18 to November 9, 2014)
Coinciding with the new stage production of “Les Misérables” in Melbourne in July 2014, the State Library of Victoria will present, from July 18 to November 9, the “Victor Hugo: Les Misérables - From Page to Stage” exhibition. This exhibition retraces the origins of the novel, its place in Victor Hugo’s engagement as well as the many screen and stage adaptations that it inspired.
The exhibition will include the exceptional loan of the novel’s original manuscript from the Bibliothèque nationale de France and will feature a previously unseen collection of photographs of Paris by Charles Marville. Prestigious French institutions (Maison de Victor Hugo, Musée Carnavalet, Musée Rodin, etc.) and Australian institutions have also contributed to the exhibition.
This exhibition is part of the “F20 creative France” initiative launched by our embassy in Canberra aimed at promoting 20 French-Australian cultural events that are emblematic of the richness and diversity of our actions in this country.
For more information please visit:
http://www.ambafrance-au.org/F20-creative-France,5883
Syria – United Nations – Adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on the delivery of humanitarian assistance (July 14, 2014)
France welcomes the unanimous adoption on July 14 of resolution 2165, authorizing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the populations most in need in Syria, notably from Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, and through 4 border crossings in addition to those already being used.
This resolution responds to the Syrian regime’s systematic refusal to allow humanitarian actors to access the areas that are not under its control, where almost 5 million Syrians are now living in an extremely precarious situation. It supplements resolution 2139 which notably called for the cessation of the indiscriminate bombing against civilian populations and the lifting of the siege in the populated areas.
France calls on all parties to implement this resolution as swiftly as possible. The UN monitoring mechanism, which monitors the loading of relief supplies in the neighboring countries, must be deployed as soon as possible.