UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan met on Tuesday with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac for talks on the latest world developments, including international efforts to fight terrorism, the revival of the Middle East peace process and bilateral cooperation, reported the official Emirati news agency (WAM).
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the minister of state for foreign affairs, was quoted by the agency as saying that the two leaders exchanged views about regional and international issues, global efforts to combat terrorism, the current situation in Afghanistan, and ongoing steps to find a political solution to the Afghans' internal conflict.
The talks also covered the situation in the Palestinian territories, amid Israel's escalation of violence against the Palestinian people, and ways of reviving the Middle East peace process.
Sheikh Hamdan said the talks had also touched the latest developments in Afghanistan and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people in light of a French proposal to convene an international emergency conference to help them.
Sheikh Zayed, he said, urged the international community to take serious action to strike an international balance in the fight against terrorism everywhere, and not to turn a blind eye to Israel's terrorism against the Palestinian people.
“Terrorism and violence will not stop in the Middle East region if the Palestinian cause is not settled and a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with international legitimacy resolutions is not reached,'' Sheikh Zayed said.
Sheikh Zayed also reiterated the UAE's support for global cooperation to fight terrorism, in order to protect mankind and human civilization.
Chirac arrived Monday in the UAE on the second leg of a Middle East tour for talks on the region's stalled peace process and the war in Afghanistan.
The official Emirati news agency (WAM) said the French leader was greeted in Abu Dhabi by the UAE's vice president and Dubai's governor, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashed Al Maktoum.
Chirac, who flew in from the Egyptian capital, is to visit Saudi Arabia.
France has signed multi-billion-dollar military contracts with Abu Dhabi since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, according to AFP.
In Cairo Monday, the French president said military action in the US-led campaign against terrorism must be limited to Afghanistan and called for an international conference to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US, Chirac's message about the need to work out a political solution for Afghanistan and step up humanitarian aid will be welcomed by Saudi and Emirati leaders, Gulf officials were quoted by AFP as saying – Albawaba.com
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