French President Jacques Chirac Saturday urged the United States to cut agricultural subsidies to its cotton farmers, blaming the measure for the poverty of millions of Africans.

His comments came at the 23rd Africa-France summit which opened in Mali's capital of Bamako on Saturday with the main theme of "African youth, its vitality, its creativity, their hopes."

"We cannot accept a situation in which hasty and generalized liberalization of agricultural trade ruins the efforts of the least-developed nations," Chirac said.

He added, "I call upon the United States to remove the subsidies to their cotton producers, as Europe has undertaken to do" for a new fair and reasonable trade order in the world.

France will continue speaking for Africans and defending Africa's economic interests in international trade negotiations, Chirac said.

Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure also made the call in his opening speech. He hoped the coming meeting of World Trade Organization in Hong Kong will help change the unfair situation.

Cotton production is a major income source of over 20 million Africans in 33 countries. US subsidies have led to a plunge of cotton price and squeezed the wallets of African farmers.

Chirac also voiced support for the African Union to set up its own peacekeeping forces for the peace and stability in the continent.

The Africa-France summit is held alternatively in France or Africa once every two years. This year's summit includes three closed-door sessions, and will end on Sunday.

The summit aims to tackle issues of African youth, the continent's conflicts and immigration. Conflicts in Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region and the war-divided Cote D'Ivoire were also likely to top the agenda.

Source: Xinhua