French leader's visit marks strong ties with Qatar

Doha: French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived here on Monday afternoon on a two-day visit to Qatar, the first of a French President to the Gulf country since 1996.

Sarkozy, who is touring the region, met in the evening with the Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Heir Apparent and the Prime Minister and held closed talks.

The talks dealt with several regional issues, including the situation in Iraq, the Lebanese political crisis, the Middle East peace process and the tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, diplomatic sources said.

Topics on the agenda also included France's support of a Gulf civil nuclear programme, of which Qatar is a promoter, and key cooperation agreements between French and Qatari companies in the energy sector.

Potential partner

On the occasion of Sarkozy's visit to Qatar yesterday State-owned Qatar Petroleum and Gaz de France signed a key memorandum of understanding envisaging joint international operations. Areva SA, the world's biggest producer of nuclear reactors, whose representatives figure in Sarkozy's delegation, was also due to sign an electricity engineering contract for an estimated 500 million euros (Dh2.6 billion)

Ties between the two countries are very good, with France looking at Qatar as a potential partner in gas development projects worldwide and a major importer of French nuclear technology, electric materials, arms and security equipment. Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, views France as offering investment opportunities to allow the Gulf country to diversify its economy.

The countries' strong ties were also highlighted yesterday by the welcoming editorials of local papers.

Arabic daily Al Watan on Monday said the French President's meeting with the Emir embodied "the growing and positive development of ties between the two countries in all domains particularly in economic fields."

It said "talks will strengthen bilateral ties, especially in the economic field. Qatar ranks as the third economic partner of France in the region," the paper stated, adding that Sarkozy's visit to Qatar comes at a time when the degree of regional and international tension had escalated and that requires world leaders to consult and hold discussions. In this regard Qatari diplomacy does seek to promote principles of openness and peace, the paper wrote.

The English language newspaper The Peninsula in its editorial described the French president as a "charismatic" leader. It praised France for "contributing to Qatar's industrial and infrastructure development" and defined the bilateral cultural ties as excellent.

This morning the French President is due to inaugurate the Voltaire Lycee, a Qatari-French school and meet with the French community before leaving for the UAE.

Speculation mounted among community members ahead of Sarkozy's visit on whether he would have brought girlfriend and ex-top model Carla Bruni to Qatar.

"We hope not. It wouldn't be appropriate. It would be embarrassing," said Katherine, a long-term French resident.