Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met in Jeddah on Saturday with the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, efforts exerted to combat terrorism and extremism and regional and international issues. In a joint press conference between Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian, Al-Jubeir said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will provide the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a complete account of the negative actions carried out by Qatar over the years and that the same account was provided to the US side and will be provided to more friendly countries and hope that this crisis will be resolved within the Gulf house and that Qatar will have the wisdom to respond to the demands of the international community and not only the four countries. He pointed out that the international community refuses their support for terrorism and extremism and hosting persons involved in this regard. He added: "I welcome the Foreign Minister on his first visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as Minister of Foreign Affairs of France. His Excellency met with the Crown Prince. We also held a bilateral meeting and discussed the historic and strong relations between the two countries and our partnership in all fields." Al-Jubeir said that during the meeting, he expressed the Kingdom's appreciation for the French position throughout history regarding the region's issues, whether the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Yemen crisis, cooperation regarding Syria and Iraq and other issues. Discussions also tackled the current situation in the region, developments in the peace process and the situation in Syria and how to find solutions to the implementation of the Geneva Declaration 1 and Security Council resolution 2254, and the situation in Iraq. Al-Jubeir said, "We expressed our satisfaction and appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to purge the city of Mosul from Daesh terrorist organization. We expressed our support for these efforts and our hope that Iraq can eliminate the entire Daesh terrorist organization in Iraq. We also discussed the crisis in Yemen and the latest developments in it, and of course we discussed the crisis with the State of Qatar, and here I stressed to His Excellency that there are basic principles that must be committed by all countries, including Qatar. The first is not supporting terrorism and the financing of terrorism. The second is to refrain from supporting extremism and from inciting and spreading hatred through the media in any form and from hosting terrorist people, those involved in terrorist financing or those wanted by their countries and refrain from interference in the affairs of the countries of the region. The Foreign Minister concluded that he briefed the French Foreign Minister on some details in this regard and on United Nations, United States and Gulf lists of their involvement in this regard. For his part, the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs thanked Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir for receiving him on his first visit as French Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pointing out that there are deep relations between the two friendly countries. The French minister expressed concern about the current crisis with the State of Qatar and the effects of this crisis on the political and economic levels. "I and the French President are in contact with all parties, and this crisis will allow the strengthening of all mechanisms to combat terrorism. We would like to salute the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is an imperative matter, and I would like to salute Saudi efforts to eradicate this scourge. "The Kingdom has demonstrated its capabilities and leadership in this military alliance to combat terrorism, as well as in the establishment of the Global Counterterrorism Center, and I think our answer should be a comprehensive answer if we are to achieve collective victory over this scourge," he said. On the French position on the crisis of Qatar, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France said it includes firm commitment of all against terrorism and against those who support terrorism and against the financing of terrorism. It is important for the GCC countries to stay united as an impenetrable barrier in the face of terrorists. He explained that the solution of this crisis must be made among the GCC countries, pointing out that it is important to clarify that France does not want to replace anyone, and that it just wants to add its efforts to the efforts of other countries who are equally concerned and want to support the Kuwaiti mediation. He said that he had been honored to meet with the Crown Prince and we decided to re-launch cooperation through the joint French-Saudi Cooperation Committee. He added that "in this regard, we decided before the end of 2017 to hold a meeting of the Joint Bilateral Committee," pointing out that this committee was in the past but was not active, and we want to review within this committee the various programs, and the outcome of the findings of the topics we are looking at in the fields of defense, energy, culture, infrastructure and education, and we want to hold annual meetings that are held once in Paris and once in Riyadh. He pointed out that this new launch of the joint bilateral committee was what the French President wished. He said that he had talked about this with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. All this is in line with the vision of 2030, and these are new opportunities for new interactions and areas of integration in bilateral relations. The Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France concluded that the meeting with Minister Al-Jubeir touched on regional and international developments and there is a great convergence of views. He expressed his happiness for the distinguished level and frankness that characterized his interviews which are the result of the deep friendship between the two countries.
