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FRENCH President Mr Jacques
Chirac held private talks with President Mugabe late on Thursday night on the
sidelines of the 22nd France-Africa summit.
According to news agency reports, Mr Chirac met Cde Mugabe after hosting a dinner for African heads of state and government attending the summit in Paris. However, details of the two leaders� meeting were not immediately available. President Chirac�s spokeswoman, Ms Catherine Colonna, gave no details of the two leaders� conversation, Reuters reported. The French leader invited Cde Mugabe to the biennial meeting, which discusses co-operation between France and Africa much to the chagrin of Britain, which has been leading an international campaign to demonise and isolate him. Britain, France�s main rival in Africa during the colonial era, was furious at his invitation to the Paris summit. France argued that it was better to talk to Cde Mugabe than to isolate him. AFP reported that President Mugabe told French radio he "felt at home" in Paris and praised President Chirac for inviting him. "We�ve had tremendous hospitality, we felt at home. We leave with a very good impression of France," Cde Mugabe told Radio France Internationale (RFI). "Chirac insisted that we attend because some members of the EU didn�t want Mugabe to attend," the President told RFI. "He put his foot down on principles," he added, noting that the world needed leaders of great stature such as Mr Chirac. That is the kind of leader we regard as very important for this stage of developments in the international community," Cde Mugabe noted. "It has been an excellent summit indeed," Cde Mugabe told RFI, adding that he hoped President Chirac would "continue to play his part in uniting the developing world, Africa in particular, and the developed world." Commenting about other leaders in the European Union, the President said: "All I can say is that they should behave like France is behaving." President Mugabe left Paris yesterday for the Far East where he is expected to open Zimbabwe Expo centres in Thailand and Singapore and then attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Expo centres are aimed at increasing trade between Zimbabwe and the Asian countries. They are a result of contacts made by the President during his visits to the Far East in 2001, 2002 and early this year. Since the visits, trade between Zimbabwe and the Far East Asian nations has been increasing steadily and last year, Zimbabwe appointed a consulate general in Thailand to be a contact between businessmen from the two countries. Cde Mugabe also opened the Zimbabwe Malaysia Expo centres last year. In Kuala Lumpur, the President will join several heads of state from NAM member countries to discuss world events with the threat of war in Iraq expected to be high on the agenda. Most of the African heads of state who were attending the France-Africa summit will also be travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the NAM summit.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy " |
