« on: November 02, 2007, 12:15:42 PM »
France and Morocco in train deal
as retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7057444.stm
11 July 2007,
President Sarkozy got a warm welcome from King Mohammed VI
France has initialled a deal to build a high-speed rail link between the cities of Tangiers and Marrakech in Morocco.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is on a three-day visit to Morocco, has also signed a deal to sell a French frigate to the Moroccan navy.
He was warmly welcomed by King Mohammed VI at the start of his first visit to the country since being elected in May.
France is Morocco's main export destination, and its main supplier of goods and foreign investment.
The tentative deal to build the rail link, led by the French group Alstom, is worth 2bn euros (£1.4bn).
The first section, 200km (125 miles) from Tangiers to Kenitra, would be operational in 2013.
Mixed outcome
Ms Dati, who is of Moroccan origin, is accompanying Mr Sarkozy
France will also sell a Fremm class frigate to the Moroccan navy and will modernise 25 of its Puma helicopters and 140 armoured vehicles, a French official said.
However, in a setback to French hopes, Morocco decided against buying 18 French Rafale fighters, opting instead for cheaper US-built F16 jets.
On Tuesday, Mr Sarkozy will address the Moroccan parliament in Rabat, before travelling to Tangiers to give a speech about his ideas for a union of Mediterranean countries. [S-Europe&N-Africa]
He is accompanied on his visit by his Justice Minister, Rachida Dati, who is of Moroccan origin, and 70 French business leaders.
Mr Sarkozy has proposed the idea of a Mediterranean union between southern European and North African countries.
He has said that said such a union would improve co-operation in areas like security, economic development, energy policy and immigration.
After talks with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, he said he wanted Mediterranean leaders to meet in 2008 to "give form" to the proposal.
more info on Sarkozy's Jewish roots:
http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=3162
« Last Edit: November 02, 2007, 12:18:55 PM by Ambiorix »
Logged
Turkey must get out of NATO. NATO must get out of Kosovo-Serbia. Croats must get out of Crajina. All muslims must get out of Christian and Jewish land. Turks must get out of Cyprus. Turks must get out of "Istanbul". "Palestinians" must get out of Israel. Israel must become independent from USA.
Topic: Train Deal (Read 2910 times)