''Le Secrétaire d'Etat M. Renaud Muselier se rendra en visite officielle en Nouvelle-Zélande du 19 au 20 novembre puis en Australie du 21 au 24 novembre 2003. Il s'agit de la première visite d'un représentant du Quai d'Orsay en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande depuis 1992. Cette visite est destinée avant tout à renforcer avec ces deux pays du Pacifique sud - dont la France est une puissance riveraine - une relation politique et de coopération régionale de qualité. En outre, nos échanges économiques et commerciaux avec l'Australie, où sont installés près de 50.000 Français, ainsi qu'avec la Nouvelle-Zélande, sont en vive progression ces dernières années. M. Renaud Muselier sera reçu dans ces pays au plus haut niveau. Il rencontrera le Premier Ministre australien, M. Howard et le Premier Ministre néo-zélandais, Mme Clark. Il signera à Canberra deux accords : le traité de coopération dans les zones maritimes adjacentes aux territoires des îles Heard et Mac Donald et aux Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF) et l'accord vacances-travail, qui permettra aux jeunes de chacun des deux pays de séjourner une année dans l'autre pays, tout en y travaillant. Avec le Ministre des Affaires étrangères de Nouvelle-Zélande, il signera le communiqué conjoint du Projet '' Prepare '', projet de coopération en matière de surveillance de la santé publique dans le Pacifique Sud.''

France - Australie

Canberra, November 18 (Actualisation dépêche)

"Signing of French-Australian Science & Technology Programme and National Launch of Feast-France" : signature confirmée du nouveau programme franco-australien de coopération scientifique.

The signing of a new French-Australian Science and Technology Programme took place at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra on Wednesday November 12. The programme, to be known as FAST will be jointly funded by the French Embassy (contribution of Euro 150,000) and the Department of Education, Science and Training (AUD 250,000). It will provide resources for a DEST-French Embassy Call for Proposals, to support workshops and collaborative research projects. The programme will be open to both public and private researchers, with priority being given to the fields of natural resources, life sciences, energy, material and Information and Communication Technology.

The signing of the new agreement coincided with the launch of FEAST-France research network. The network, a sub-group of FEAST (Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology cooperation), will provide support for the French-Australian research community, facilitating the organisation of collaborative projects, workshops and other activities through a network of liaison officers and the provision of information on grants, events, contacts and potential partners.

The launch was followed by a two-day FEAST conference on November 13 and 14 entitled Networking for Excellence, which brought together Australian and European policy makers and experts. Day one consisted of a number of plenary sessions while day two featured a series of workshops. Speakers included the Minister for Science, Mr Peter McGauran, Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Robin Batterham, Chair of the Australian Research Council, Mr Tim Besley, and European Commission Director for the Environment, Dr Chris Patermann.

source Feast members - signature du programme de coopération scientifique - France, Australia

PR/18/03


MEDIA RELEASE


FRENCH MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO VISIT AUSTRALIA

French Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Renaud Muselier, will be making an official visit to Australia from Friday 21 until Monday 24 November. He will be accompanied by French parliamentarians Philippe Vitel and Pierre Frogier. Details of his visit are as follows:

* Friday 21 November - Sydney
As Deputy Mayor of Marseilles, he will attend a reception for representatives of the 13 host cities of the Rugby World Cup 2007, hosted by the Government of New South Wales. Following this he will meet with Premier Bob Carr.

Mr Muselier will be a guest at the luncheon to launch the Rugby World Cup 2007 to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel. The Minister will then officially open the new premises of the Lycée Condorcet French school in Maroubra, before attending a reception for the French community.

He will commence the evening with a guided tour of Telstra Stadium, before being welcomed to a dinner organised by the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the French Trade Counsellors.

* Saturday 22 November - Sydney
The Minister will visit Sydney Harbour. In the afternoon Mr Muselier will lay a wreath at the La Perouse Monument with the Mayor of Randwick, Dominic Sullivan, and Veterans representatives. The Minister will also attend the final of the Rugby World Cup.

* Sunday 23 November - Adelaide
Mr Muselier will visit Adelaide, where the port facilities are managed by French company Egis. He will also visit the Barossa Valley at the invitation of the Orlando-Wyndham group, a subsidiary of French group Pernod Ricard.

* Monday 24 November - Canberra
Mr Muselier will meet Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer.

Following these meetings the Minister will sign two important French-Australian agreements. The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs will sign on behalf of Australia. The first, the Treaty on Cooperation in the Maritime Areas Adjacent to the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF), Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, concerns cooperation in the fight against illegal fishing in the sub-Antarctic waters, and the second is the Working Holiday Arrangement. The signing of these two agreements will be followed by a joint press conference with Mr Downer.

Mr Muselier will then visit the Australian War Memorial where he will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with his final engagement a visit to the French-Australian Telopea Park School.

Canberra, November 19, 2003

'Detente' for Australia, France

Canberra, November 24, 2003

FRANCE and Australia today overcame differences over the Iraq war to sign agreements for working-holiday exchanges and co-operation in the fight against toothfish poachers.

Under the working holiday agreement, Australian travellers will be able to live and work in France, with French travellers gaining the same rights in Australia.
Under the agreement on maritime cooperation, Australia will gain access to French SPOT surveillance satellite imagery to track fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean.

The agreements were signed in Canberra by Mr Downer and his French counterpart Renard Muselier, marking the first official visit to Australia by any French minister for two decades. Mr Downer conceded Australia and France had not agreed on the conflict in Iraq, with France strongly opposing the US-led invasion.

"Australia and France, whatever differences we may have had over the
question of Iraq, are two countries that stand for the same values," he
said.

"We believe in the same broad principles of freedom and democracy and we have wide ranging co-operation, be it economic where there are a large number of French companies investing in Australia making jobs for
Australians, through to the very good co-operation that there is between us on areas such as counter-terrorism."

Mr Downer said Australia appreciated the co-operation of French authorities in the case of French terror suspect Willie Brigitte.

Brigitte, a French national with alleged links to terror group al-Qaeda,
arrived in Australia on a tourist visa in May and lived for five months in
Sydney.

French intelligence discovered his location and informed Australian
authorities. He was detained and deported to France on October 9.

Mr Downer said France and Australia also agreed on the need to halt the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the working-holiday agreement with France was Australia's 17th.
"We are going to welcome up to 500 French nationals to Australia. We will be delighted to take from them whatever experience we can in the wine industry and pick up some more secrets," she said.

Mr Muselier said Australia and France shared economic interests with 250
French firms operating in Australia and employing more than 70,000
Australians.

"We have many important secrets we are happy to share with you," he said.
"This bilateral co-operation also extends to human relations exchanges and culture. We share the same values.

"I believe we are very much of the same minds as you as far as the
destruction of weapons of mass destruction, the struggle against terrorism and reinforcement of democracy."

Source : http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story ... yid=536180