Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA STEPHEN HARPER MEETS WITH NEW PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC NICOLAS SARKOZY AND NEW PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE FRANÇOIS FILLON

June 5, 2007


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It's a pleasure for me to be in Paris and to have met with President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Fillon. By coming to France less than a month after the elections, I wanted to send a strong signal of the importance Canada attaches to this relationship.

In fact, as you know, this is my third visit to France in less than a year and relations between our two countries are excellent. Our two countries cooperate closely in many areas, for example in foreign policy as exemplified by our common work in both Haiti and Afghanistan.

Our economic and trade relationship keeps growing stronger, although we always want to do better. The President and I spent time earlier today, which I must say was not only very enjoyable but also very productive. President Sarkozy is a great friend of Canada, and I look forward to working with him to strengthen our bilateral ties but also our close collaboration on international issues.

I also had an excellent meeting with the Prime Minister. During our time we discussed a number of issues that are important to both of our countries. In particular, we had a good exchange on the strengthening of our economic relationship so it can reach its full potential, and we also discussed various challenges that are faced by modern governments.

We discussed our continued cooperation in Afghanistan so as to bring security and stability to the people there, and we touched on different regional issues of interest, in particular, Darfur.

As you know, the G8 Summit begins tomorrow, and this was a good opportunity to have a discussion on the meetings, as well as of course a particular discussion on the issue of climate change.

Finally, we agreed on the importance of the upcoming Francophonie Summit which will be held in Quebec City in October 2008, around the same time as the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. As you know, this event is of great importance for all Canadians and we look forward to celebrating it with our French friends.

I want to thank both the President and the Prime Minister for their hospitality. It goes without saying that President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Fillon are always most welcome in Canada, and I hope to host them there in the near future.

I also look forward to working with the President over the next few days at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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