Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited Nigeria from April 12 to 14. This visit falls in line with the priorities set by President Macron during his visit to Nigeria in July 2018 and his determination to build a new partnership between Africa and France.
Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa and the economic powerhouse of West Africa, is a key partner of France. Franck Riester met with Niyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, in order to prepare for the summit on financing African economies due to take place in Paris on May 18. The minister delegate also discussed ways to strengthen French-Nigerian cooperation with the Governors’ Forum, a key platform in Nigeria.
France utterly condemns the attacks in Erbil, already targeted by rocket attacks on February 15, and Nineveh Province last night.
It reaffirms its attachment to Iraq’s sovereignty and integrity, as well as to the stability of the Kurdish autonomous region. The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government must deepen their cooperation in order to identify the perpetrators of these attacks and, more broadly, ensure the security of all Iraqis.
France reaffirms its determination to continue its efforts within the framework of the Global Coalition against Daesh together with its local and international partners, with whom it reaffirms its wholehearted solidarity.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is conducting an official visit to India from April 13 to 15, at the invitation of the Indian authorities. This visit reflects the vitality of the strategic partnership between France and India, which has continued to strengthen despite the health crisis and reflects the solidarity between our two countries in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister met today with his counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s Minister of External Affairs, to discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues. The two ministers discussed all aspects of our bilateral strategic partnership, notably the deepening of defense cooperation, the strengthening of exchanges in the space field and EDF’s proposal for the construction of 6 EPRs in Jaitapur.
Ukraine – Joint statement by France and Germany at the OSCE (Vienna, 10 Apr. 2021) Share
Statement by Germany and France on the occasion of the meeting of OSCE participating States under the Vienna Document Article 16 on unusual military activities on the Ukrainian-Russian border, at the invitation of Ukraine in Vienna on 10 April 2021
For several days, we as well as other partners have been observing large-scale Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine.
Such activities near the border are always a cause for concern.
On our part, but especially on the part of Ukraine, this concern can be defused if appropriate explanations are provided. Chapter III of the Vienna Document was especially created for this purpose.