Sommet franco-britannique de Londres ( page 19/19 )

This year's Franco British Summit took place at Lancaster House in London on 24 November. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, hosted the Summit. The day began with a Guard of Honour at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for President Chirac. Mr Blair then invited both Presient Chirac and Prime Minister Raffarin to his official residence at 10 Downing Street for bilateral talks.

Other Ministers at the Summit included (from both France and Britain) the Foreign, Defence, Home, Environment and Health Secretaries, and the Ministers for Schools, Research and Europe. This wide ranging and high-level participation alone underlines the breadth and depth of the Franco-British relationship today. All the Ministers who attended held productive bilateral discussions with their opposite numbers during the course of the morning. They joined forces at Lancaster House at midday for a plenary session.

The Summit came immediately after the terrorist attacks in Istanbul against the HSBC Bank and the British Consulate-General. The British Prime Minister and the French President took the opportunity of the Summit to repeat their utter condemnation of terrorism from whatever quarter, and their determined resolve to do everything possible to confront and defeat it.

The London Summit made progress in two main areas of work: on defence and on Africa. On defence, the two governments proposed a new initiative for the EU to focus on the development of its rapid reaction capabilities to enhance its ability to respond to UN requests in short-term crisis management situations. On peace and security in Africa, they stressed their comitment to reinforce their efforts to support African mediation and the efforts to prevent and manage conflicts led by the African Union and the regional

organisations.

At the Summit Press Conference, the British Prime Minister and the French President also announced their intentions to celebrate the Centenary of the Entente Cordiale in 2004. They both looked forward to next year's celebrations. They stressed their commitment to working together at this time, in the atmosphere of confidence and trust that befits the friendly relations that have existed between the two countries for a century.