French Ambassador Presents Letter Of Credence To Asean Secretary General

Jakarta, July 9 (Antara) - French Ambassador to ASEAN Corrine Breuz� presented her Letter of Credence to ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh at the ASEAN Secretariat here on Monday. Secretary General Minh congratulated and welcomed the accreditation of Breuze as the ambassador of the French Republic to ASEAN, and expressed appreciation to the desire of the French Government to strengthen friendly relations and cooperation with ASEAN, the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat said in a statement on Tuesday. He further reassured Ambassador Breuz� that he and the ASEAN Secretariat looked forward to promoting the relationship. Ambassador Breuz� informed that Laurent Fabius, the French minister of foreign affairs, is expected to pay an official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat and meet with Secretary General Minh in early August 2013. They looked forward to the important visit, which would provide an impetus for further enhancing ASEAN-France friendly relationship and cooperation. Furthermore, they exchanged views on the recent developments in ASEAN as well as regional and international issues of interest. Minh expressed appreciation for the concrete cooperation activities that France initiated with ASEAN, including the ASEAN-Europe Business Round Table, training programme for young ASEAN diplomats, capacity building programme for Myanmar`s ASEAN Chair in 2014 and capacity building programme for climate change negotiation. He further suggested exploring practical cooperation in the fields that France has expertise and interest for mutual benefits, which would also serve as the foundation for closer relationship. These may include support for the areas under the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, ASEAN Community building�particularly narrowing development gap, and Initiative for ASEAN Integration Work Plan II. Ambassador Breuz� stated that the Government of France regards ASEAN as an important regional grouping and is interested in pursuing greater cooperation with ASEAN. The political will is reflected in France`s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and France�s support for the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ). France`s relation with ASEAN is also built upon the strong foundation of its relations with individual ASEAN Member States.