French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has described his just concluded visit to Algeria as successful, nevertheless adding that a lot remained to be overcome with regard to the proposed Union for the Mediterranean (UPM), the local press has reported.
The French foreign minister, who was addressing reporters at a press briefing held Monday at the Algiers International Airport, said that a lot of important issues would need to be addressed before the project can go ahead as planned.
The declaration on the formation of the UPM, which must be proclaimed in Paris, is currently in the "draft stage" and "we will not release anything publicly before our Algerian friends have lent their stones to this edifice," said the foreign minister.
"In case there will be a secretariat and a presidency for the union, the two shores of the Mediterranean, which will be required to act together within the framework of the UPM, will jointly preside over the two sets," Kouchner said.
Regarding his meeting with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Kouchner said that "President Bouteflika had expressed interest in the project from the very first day we talked about the Union for the Mediterranean."
Asked whether the Algerian head of state had confirmed his participation to the UPM conference slated for July 13 in Paris, Kouchner said that "invitations for the meeting had not yet been sent."
The French foreign minister, who arrived in Algiers Monday morning, held high-level discussions with government officials including President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem and his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci.
The proposed Union for the Mediterranean, the brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is designed to spur greater cooperation between the two sides of the Mediterranean Sea.
After running into much opposition from a section of the 27 members of the European Union led by Germany over fears of a split, the construction of the union appears to have gathered steam after Sarkozy agreed that all EU countries be allowed to be members of the union.
Source: Xinhua
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