French policy towards Arabia and the Persian Gulf

This file relates to French policy towards Arabia and the Gulf. It contains correspondence and press reports concerning:

• Briefing notes for a meeting between Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington [Peter Alexander Rupert Carington] and French Foreign Minister Jean François-Poncet
• A visit by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in March 1980 to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, including joint communiques and discussion of issues including: the Soviet Union intervention in Afghanistan; the Arab-Israeli conflict and the right to self determination in Palestine; the security and stability of the Gulf; the maintenance of dialogue between Arab States and the European Economic Community; and bilateral relations
• Reports that Libyan President Muammar Al Gaddafi has threatened to sever diplomatic relations with Gulf States that receive the French President
• The question of President d'Estaing meeting Yaser Arafat
• HMG's concern about French attempts to rival its position in the linguistic, cultural, and commercial fields
• Criticism of US President Jimmy Carter's position on the Arab-Israeli conflict by Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa
• A letter on Palestine by the UK Ambassador to Qatar C T Brant, published in the opinion page of the Gulf Times
• UK objectives for an Anglo-French summit
• French arms sales to the Gulf, including a deal signed with Saudi Arabia
• Talks between P C G F Hood, at the British Embassy in France, and Monsieur Depis, primarily regarding the Iran-Iraq War