Malaysia – Meeting between Catherine Colonna and her counterpart (June 2, 2023)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna met today with Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zambry Abdul Kadir.

The two ministers emphasized the solid foundations of the French-Malaysian relationship, particularly our longstanding high-caliber defense industry partnership, and decided to give it a new impetus through regular bilateral consultations.

The minister reiterated that France recognizes Malaysia’s full sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders.

With regard to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the two ministers reaffirmed the need to abide by the UN Charter and, in particular, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.

The two ministers expressed their support for a free, open, inclusive Indo-Pacific region in which international law is respected by all.

The French foreign minister stressed the importance that France attributes to deepening its development partnership with ASEAN and its observer status in the ADMM-Plus as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, and thanked Malaysia for its support. The ministers expressed their deep concern over the political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar following the coup d’état and their commitment to seeing democracy and the rule of law return to that country. The minister reiterated France’s support for ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus in that regard.

Ukraine – Condemnation of Russian strikes against Ukraine (June 2, 2023)

France utterly condemns the waves of Russian cruise missile and drone strikes that targeted Kyiv for the 19th time in a month.

The strikes – now daily – once again deliberately targeted civilian objectives, confirming that Russia is using these strikes as a tool of its aggression, in flagrant and deliberate violation of international humanitarian law.

As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna has repeatedly stressed, these unacceptable acts constitute war crimes and cannot go unpunished. France will continue to lend support to the Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court to combat impunity for such crimes.

France will continue its assistance to Ukraine in every sector for as long as necessary to help it resist Russia’s illegal aggression.

UN – Election of Dennis Francis as president of the 78th Session of the General Assembly (June 2, 2023)

France congratulates Ambassador Dennis Frances, Trinidad and Tobago’s permanent representative to the United Nations, on his election by acclamation as president of the 78^th Session of the UN General Assembly, which will begin on September 12.

France looks forward to working closely with this seasoned diplomat on all the issues that come before the UN General Assembly, one of the central institutions of our multilateral system. France knows it can count on his commitment to implement Agenda 2030 ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the Summit of the Future, emphasizing global solidarity with current and future generations as well as the need to abide by international law and respect human dignity as we celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the Paris signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Women’s Rights – EU joins the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention (June 1, 2023)

France welcomes the EU’s accession to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

France, which chairs the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention, is waging a determined campaign, alongside its partners, for the universal ratification of this convention and its effective implementation, as President Macron noted at the Reykjavik Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe this past May. We stand with the victims of violence, including sexual violence. As the minister announced on March 8, we have stepped up our support for organizations that help women in this situation, including the UN Population Fund and the Global Survivors Fund.

As part of its feminist diplomacy, France will continue to strive for equality between men and women, our great national cause, and for women’s participation in all public and private decision-making processes. We will continue to resolutely combat all forms of gender-based violence, both in peacetime and during armed conflicts. This is one of our priorities in our human rights, social justice and gender equality efforts, and is an essential prerequisite for sustainable peace in all our societies.