French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at London's Heathrow Airport Wednesday morning to begin a two-day state visit to Britain.
He was greeted at the airport on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
The French president is accompanied by his wife, former model Carla Bruni.
From the airport, the Sarkozys were taken to Windsor Castle, east of London, to be formally greeted by the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Sarkozy will address both Houses of Parliament before a State Banquet given by the Queen in his honor in the evening.
During the two-day visit, Sarkozy will hold talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown covering a wide range of issues.
The two leaders are expected to focus on efforts to stabilize the global money market with a call for banks to be clear about the scale of their bad debts.
They are expected to suggest a reform of the United Nations Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa.
They are also likely to discuss the situation in Afghanistan where Sarkozy pledged earlier to send 1,000 more French troops.
The two leaders are also expected to unveil new cooperation on illegal immigration and nuclear energy.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth (C) greets France's first lady Carla Bruni (R) as Prince Philip (L) and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (C Rear) stand near during ceremonies at Windsor Castle, near London March 26, 2008. The French president said in a BBC interview before arriving here that he wanted France and Britain to "move from being cordial to being friendly" and to take "concrete" steps to show this.
He called for the formation of a "new Franco-British brotherhood", saying Europe could not do without Britain's language, its strong economy and defence.
Source:Xinhua
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