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| Remarks by the President at the Official Dinner for the Prime Minster of France 28 April 2006 |
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| The Au Jardin Garden The Chateau 8.23 PM (WST) THE PRESIDENT: Good Evening and it is with great pleasure for me to welcome all of you to the People's House, the Chateau. I would like to offer a tost to Prime Minister De Villepin.It has been most wonderful meeting him and his wife Marie today here at the Chateau, and I want to thank him for all efforts put into improving the very best ties between France and the Federation. I am honored to have this very speical relationship with the republic of France, and I look forward to welcoming him as well as Prsident Chirac to the Federation again soon. So may I propose a tost to the prime Miniter and the Republic of France. (A toast is offered) Mr. Prime Minister? THE PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE: Thankyou President Cherrie, Mrs. Linda Cherrie for a most wonderful day here att he Chateau. It has been an honor to be given such a high accord. Thankyou for this special relationship with France you have. I would just liket o say a few words. We share a similar vision of the world. On collective security and regional crises, our analyses are much the same. In this year of the Federation�s G8 presidency, we must draw on this shared vision to build together a more united, more stable world. But for this our economies must take up a tremendous challenge: to achieve growth delivering social justice and development. For them to take up this challenge, I firmly believe two things are essential: The first is that, in an increasingly open world, all our economies must equip themselves with new weapons. I want to tell you here, in this country which I know is achieving economic regeneration and dynamism: France has all the strengths of a modern, high-performance economy, at the forefront of the new world of the twenty-first century. At a time when many countries, in both North and South, are dependent on a particular sector of their economy, be it agriculture, industry or services, France has opted for diversity and balance. She has developed a high-standard, modern and successful agriculture. She is not only at the cutting edge in every economic sector, including the nuclear, rail, aerospace, agri-foodstuffs and automotive industries, she also has some major international market leaders in such services as banking, insurance and the hotel industry. Source of shared growth, this balance is for us an essential guarantee in an unstable and at times unpredictable world. In all these spheres, we have some of the highest productivity rates, and an infrastructure allowing us to make the most of our country�s central geographic location in Europe. To enhance these assets still further, we have launched some major new infrastructure projects, both for high-speed trains (TGVs) and motorways. We�ve just launched a major investment drive in innovation and high technology. Over the next two years, the State will be investing �2 billion in the Agence pour l�innovation industrielle [Industrial Innovation Agency]. This will mean around 20 large-scale industrial projects, involving several thousand researchers and technicians, and bringing together some major industrial groups and small and medium-sized enterprises. We shall also be investing �6 billion over three years in research. It�s a large-scale effort, unparalleled in the past 20 years. To increase efficiency we�re getting our top-notch research laboratories, universities and companies to work together. This is why we created our �competitiveness centres�. Over �200 million has already been committed to financing both R&D and technological projects. So there is alot of work to be done, and I thank you - sorry for taking up so much of your time. (Laughter) May I Propose a tost to the health of the Preisdent and First Lady of the Federationa nd to the strong relations between France and the Federation. (A toast is Offered) Thankyou and have a very most wonderful evening. (applause) END |