President holds talks with French leaders

PRESIDENT Kumaratunga called on President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, where they held discussions on a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues.

France's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Phillppe Douste-Blazy and the Leader of the Socialist Party Francois Hollande also called on President Kumaratunga on Thursday for separate meetings at the Presidential suite of her Paris hotel.

They discussed several issues of mutual interest such as the current state of the peace process, the upcoming Presidential elections and the tsunami recovery efforts in Sri Lanka.

The President expressed her gratitude to the people of France and the French government for their assistance in the immediate aftermath of the December 26 tragedy and for the generous assistance of 74 million euro for the rehabilitation of the Trincomalee District.

Referring to the second phase of the recovery programme President Kumaratunga explained that the Government of Sri Lanka has identified several post tsunami rehabilitation projects and handed them to foreign governments and NGOs for completion.

However, she expressed concern that some Non Governmental Organizations have yet to translate their pledges of assistance into action.