De Villepin visits the Gulf in support of the French presence

The French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin starts today a visit to the United Arab Emirates, starting a Gulf visit that lasts for three days, which will also include Oman, Kuwait and Qatar and Bahrain and aims at strengthening the French presence in an area characterized of a great strategic importance.

The tour also aims at reviving bilateral relations with the countries the French minister will visit.

France opposed Iraq's war which destabilized regional balances. This matter reflected in the geographical position of the Gulf states and the large American military and economic presence there.

The spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Hervy Ladsue, said that this tour confirms France's desire to strengthen its political presence in this strategic part of the world, noting that this visit "falls in the course of a regional context linked to the situation in Iraq. " Ladsue said that France which opposed the war against Iraq wants to continue a policy of existence, independence, and balance in the region." He added that De Villepin's tour aims in particular at hearing its views on conditions in Iraq, to see what they are thinking about Baghdad's future."