JEDDAH, 16 March 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah will pay a three-day visit to France from March 19 before leaving for Algiers to attend the Arab League Summit, press reports said quoting high-level sources.
Prince Abdullah will hold talks with French President Jacques Chirac and his top aides on major issues including Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported.
“The crown prince’s talks in Paris will focus on the situation in Lebanon following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as well as on the withdrawal of Syrian forces from the country,” the newspaper said.
President Chirac contacted Prince Abdullah about two weeks ago to discuss the consequences of Hariri’s assassination in a central Beirut bomb blast on Feb. 14.
After his talks in France, Prince Abdullah will lead the Saudi delegation to the annual summit of Arab heads of state scheduled for March 22-23.
France, along with the United States, has spearheaded calls for an end to Syria’s three-decade political and military grip on Lebanon. Saudi Arabia joined calls for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and a credible investigation into the murder of Hariri who held Saudi citizenship.
Yesterday in Riyadh, Prince Abdullah met a French Senate delegation led by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee. He also received a message from British Prime Minister Blair and held talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Today Prince Abdullah will open seven health projects at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh, an affiliate of the National Guard. According to Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeea, director of health affairs at the National Guard, the new health projects to be dedicated by the crown prince have cost some SR230 million.
