Saudi Arabia – Visit by Olivier Becht (Dec. 20-22, 2022)

Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, will be in Saudi Arabia from December 20 to 22 to meet with local officials and discuss ways to expand economic cooperation between our two countries. He is seeking to step up French participation in the major projects included in the country’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Saudi economy by developing new cities and infrastructures.

Mr. Becht will be accompanied by a delegation of some 30 representatives of French healthcare companies, led by French Healthcare and MEDEF International. These companies will offer presentations on French expertise to Saudi officials and private sector players.

He will also visit the Al-’Ula region, whose transformation into a cultural and tourist destination is a major Saudi project supported by the French Development Agency (AFALUA).

In addition, he will meet with Saudi Arabia’s French community.

Biodiversity – France welcomes the adoption of a historic agreement at the COP15 (Dec. 19, 2022)

France welcomes the historic agreement reached today at the COP15 in Montreal. The protections it provides for biodiversity are unprecedented.

As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna observed, France played an active role in establishing this necessary level of ambition. We are committed to the multilateral negotiation process that enabled us to reach a fair, global, workable agreement.

The text adopted under the Chinese presidency features an implementation mechanism that includes regular reports on the collective achievement of the goals contained in the agreement. It maintains the target of protecting 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030 – a target supported by France – and proposes to make new financial resources available for the countries of the Global South: $20 billion by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030.

At the COP15, France – which made the preservation and sustainable management of forests a priority – launched preparations for the One Forest Summit to be held in Libreville in 2023. That event was announced by the French and Gabonese presidents at the COP27. France will also host a “New Financial Covenant” summit next June.

Peru (Dec. 19, 2022)

We are closely monitoring the situation in Peru, where violence has left 20 people dead and hundreds injured. We offer our condolences to the victims’’families.

We demand an immediate end to the violence and the resumption of dialogue in order to achieve a peaceful outcome in line with the rule of law and the Constitution.

We call on all stakeholders to undertake the political reforms that are necessary to resolving the crisis and ensuring democratic stability.

We wish to remind our fellow citizens that travel to Peru is strongly discouraged at this time. Our embassy in Peru has opened a Crisis Unit to assist French nationals in difficulty.

The first non-resident French nationals have been able to return to the capital, thanks to efforts by our embassy in conjunction with the Crisis and Support Center of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and support from local authorities. Together with our partners, especially other Europeans, our embassy is working to facilitate these operations, particularly in the Cuzco and Arequipa areas, and to assist those of our nationals who are still stranded.

UN – France condemns the attack on MINUSMA (Dec. 19, 2022)

France strongly condemns the December 19th attack in Timbuktu on a United Nations Police (UNPOL) patrol belonging to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which left two Nigerian peacekeepers dead and four wounded.

France offers its condolences to the deceased peacekeepers’ loved ones and to the Nigerian authorities. We wish the injured peacekeepers a speedy recovery.

France commends MINUSMA’s dedication. The perpetrators of this attack must be identified and held accountable.

Montenegro – France expresses concern over the worsening political crisis (Dec. 19, 2022)

France expresses its concern over the worsening political crisis in Montenegro, which is undermining the country’s democratic institutions and slowing its European integration process.

The final vote on the latest amendments to the law on presidential prerogatives goes against the opinion of the Venice Commission, in the absence of an operational Constitutional Court.

To move ahead with its EU membership, which remains the wish of the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens, politicians must show restraint and refrain from any initiatives that jeopardize the rule of law.

France therefore calls on all of Montenegro’s political stakeholders to engage in dialogue and to seek a compromise on the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court. They must also agree on a way to end the current political impasse in order to implement reforms that are needed to bring the country closer to the EU.

Tunisia – Preliminary results of the first round of the legislative elections (Dec. 19, 2022)

France takes note of the preliminary results of the first round of Tunisian legislative elections and the low turnout reported by the Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).

France reiterates its full support for Tunisia and the Tunisian people as their country tackles the political, economic and social challenges it is currently facing. We underscore the need to swiftly undertake the reforms that are necessary to ensure the country’s stability and future prosperity. France was concerned to learn that the International Monetary Fund had postponed its board meeting on a loan program for Tunisia. We therefore call for a resumption of talks between the Tunisian authorities and the IMF that are as inclusive as possible in order to reach a final agreement.

Democratic Republic of the Congo / Rwanda

More and more people, including Dr. Mukwege, are speaking out against Rwandan interference. Do you have any information about this?

We condemn Rwanda’s support for M23 and want to see the full implementation of the Nairobi Process and the Luanda Roadmap.