French ambassador visits president

French ambassador Mr Michel Lummaux paid a farewell call on President
Mohamed Nasheed yesterday.

The president thanked Lummaux and the French government for their
support in ushering in democracy to the Maldives.

He added he hoped France would continue assisting the Maldives in
consolidating democracy in the country.

Nasheed said French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s contribution was
essential in reaching a resolution on climate change at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

Last week, Commonwealth heads met for their two-day annual meeting.
They were joined for the first time by non-Commonwealth leaders
Sarkozy, the Danish prime minister and the UN secretary general.

Nasheed said the resolution renewed hope of reaching a climate change
treaty at the summit on the issue in Copenhagen later this month.

Lummaux told the president France would continue to assist the
Maldives and was aware of the vulnerability of low-lying nations such
as the Maldives to climate change.