ASFE Association, Always at your side when abroad

Q: On Wednesday, you said that EU Coordinator Mora's visit to Tehran was coming at a critical moment for the future of the nuclear agreement. Since then, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that discussions would resume in two weeks in Brussels “to seek practical solutions to the current deadlock in the Vienna talks.” That doesn't point to an immediate return to Vienna, as several countries including France have been requesting for months. Do you believe that Iran is negotiating in good faith (…)

Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, traveled to the Netherlands today.
There he met with the France Business team, discussing means and goals for supporting French businesses abroad. During that meeting, the minister reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening the collective momentum around international growth that motivates our business community abroad and underscored the importance of (…)

World hunger has been on the rise since 2014, and the pandemic only exacerbated this trend. Some 811 million people suffered from hunger in 2020 – 161 million more than in 2019.
While food crises are proliferating, with 155 million people experiencing acute food insecurity, France is working internationally to support farmers, develop ecologically friendly farming systems, combat malnutrition, and promote the transition to healthy, sustainable food systems. Since 2018, France has increased (…)

Q: The situation in Lebanon is deteriorating. Parliamentary and presidential elections are slated to be held in the near future; might France take steps to establish a body to assist with and monitor the elections to guarantee the fundament respect for the voters' choice?
A: France expresses its deep concern over yesterday's violence which left several dead and many injured, in the context of the recent obstacles placed in the way of the smooth unfolding of the investigation into the (…)

Q: Do you have any comment on Lebanon's suspension of the investigation into the explosion of August 4, 2020?
A: France notes its deep concern over recent obstacles to the smooth unfolding of the investigation into the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the violence that has taken place in that regard. It calls on all parties to ease tensions.
France has supported every phase of the investigations into the explosion at the port and responded to all the requests it has (…)

Q: Regarding the negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol, does the French Government believe the problem of access to British waters for fishing is linked to the hardening of Britain's stance on the Protocol?
A: The two issues are the focus of discussions between the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding its commitments.
We are encountering unacceptable difficulties when it comes to the issuing of fishing licenses, contrary to the pledges made by the British authorities. (…)

Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is speaking today with Mr. Azmin Ali, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry.
They will discuss the French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific, a priority of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union. They will talk about our two countries' common efforts to ensure the success of the Twelfth WTO Ministerial (…)

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke yesterday with Carolina Ache Batlle, Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. Their conversation was part of the regular contact we maintain with Uruguay, illustrated in particular by the visit to France by Minister of Foreign Relations Francisco Bustillo in December 2020 and the bilateral meeting with (…)

Q: The 18th summit of La Francophonie, scheduled for the end of November in Tunisia, was postponed by a year so that it could be held in “optimum conditions” rather than “virtually,” according to the OIF and Tunisian diplomats. Is this postponement related to Covid-19, with the understanding that other similar events are now being held in person? Could the summit be held in Tunisia in the current political situation?
A: As the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie stated, the (…)

Q: According to media reports, the Belarusian foreign minister asked France to recall Ambassador Nicolas de Bouillane de Lacoste. It is also said that the Belarusian Ambassador Igor Fissenko was recalled from France. Can you confirm this information and give us the reasons for these decisions?
A: No comment.