Vedrine to visit Saudi Arabia next week

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine will visit Saudi Arabia on March 8, his first visit to Saudi Arabia since he assumed the office of French foreign minister.

A diplomatic source at the French Foreign Ministry in Riyadh told the Saudi daily Okaz in a statement issued on Monday that Vedrine will meet with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal and senior Saudi officials to discuss conditions in the region, especially the crisis between Iraq and the UN inspection teams, the French role in settling this crisis by peaceful means and bilateral cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France.