HE Minister of Foreign Affairs: I would like to begin by welcoming, my friend, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the friendly French Republic, whose visit comes at an important time for the State of Qatar. His visit was a reflection of the strength of the Qatari-French relations in several areas including the fields of knowledge, defense, energy and important economic relations. We reviewed the actions taken by the blockading countries that directly affect all international treaties and rules of international law. We welcome the friendly French Republic's position of supporting the Kuwaiti mediation, and reaching a solution through constructive dialogue based on mutual respect, and respect for the sovereignty of states and the principles and provisions of international law.
Also, in this meeting we stressed that the current common goal of all states and the international community is to combat terrorism and its financing. What is happening now is disrupting these efforts, as counterterrorism is a measure that requires collective action from all states. Counterterrorism is not the practice of political and intellectual terrorism or terrorizing states. Therefore, we look forward to cooperating with the French Republic in this field and with all allied and friendly countries.
HE the French Foreign Minister: France has a close friendship with the State of Qatar, and extensive cooperation in various fields mentioned by my friend Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, such as in the fields of defense, culture and economics. This morning I visited the Qatar National Museum workshop and it was a very interesting visit. The President of the French Republic had several telephone conversations with His Highness the Emir, who we hope to receive in a visit to Paris soon, these conversations dealt with the Gulf crisis, which deserves our full attention. France is very concerned about the rapid deterioration of ties between Qatar and its neighboring countries as a result of this crisis. France wants to help settle the situation and have all parties engage in dialogue, as France wants to facilitate and support its resolution. As you mentioned Your Excellency, with regards to the Kuwaiti mediation, I would like to reiterate our full support for this mediation.
From the beginning of the crisis France has tried hard to maintain an active dialogue with all parties involved, and Qatar. We would like to commend the efforts of the United States' Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who was in the region earlier this week, and made suggestions for a roadmap and basis for an agreement that seems appropriate to us. A rapid solution to this crisis and current tension must be found as soon as possible, especially in order to lift the measures that affect civilians. Specifically, families with more than one nationality, who have been separated from their family members, and people who have been prevented from returning to the country they reside in. Dear friend, I would like us to focus on the importance of combating terrorist groups, particularly those classified by the United Nations. It is one of the great challenges we must face. We must all face this threat and danger, and we must work resolutely to combat financing terrorism in order to strengthen the relationship between our two countries even more in the future. We discussed many topics, but most of our discussions today revolved around the situation in the Gulf, and this is what my tour of the region will involve. Thank you.