LOC18:22
15:22 GMT
PARIS, Jan 20 (KUNA) - French Cooperation Minister Henri de Raincourt is to
visit the Palestinian Territories and Israel from January 22-24 where he will
meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral relations and development
cooperation, particularly with the Palestinians.
Raincourt will attend the Third Conference of Franco-Palestinian
Decentralised Cooperation alongside Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Since the Paris Donor Conference for Palestine in December 2007, France has
contributed USD 335 million for development projects in the Palestinian
Territories and the two sides will sign a new agreement this weekend for USD
13.5 million to help improve the water supply in the northern areas of the
West Bank.
The French minister will also meet separately with Fayyad to discuss the
blocked situation in the Middle East peace process.
In Israel, Raincourt will hold talks with President Shimon Peres and Deputy
Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and he will also meet with a number of religious
figures in Jerusalem.
"This trip will be an opportunity for the minister to reiterate the support
of France for efforts aimed at restarting peace negotiations...and the urgency
of finding a fair and lasting negotiated solution to resolve the Middle East
conflict," a French statement said. (End)
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KUNA 201822 Jan 12NNNN