Khatami to visit France on April 12
PARIS, March 5 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will visit
France on April 12 during a ground-breaking foray into Europe during which
he will also travel to Italy, diplomatic sources said Friday.
Khatami, who will be accompanied by several government ministers, flies
to Paris after a visit to Rome from March 9 to 11.
No details on the length and schedule of his French stay were immediately
available.
Khatami's trip was prepared last month during a visit to France by Foreign
Minister Kamal Kharazi, Tehran's first foreign minister in eight years
to pay a "working visit" to France.
Last Monday, petroleum giants Elf Aquitaine of France and Italy's ENI
signed a 540 million dollar deal with Tehran to develop an offshore Iranian
oil field in the Gulf.
The two firms signed the nine-year contract with Deputy Oil Minister
Mehdi Hosseini to increase production at the Dorud field in the northern
Gulf, Iran's oldest operational oil field.
The deal -- a so-called "buy-back" scheme in which the two
firms' investments will be repaid with a share of production -- is intended
to boost Dorud's output from 148,000 to 220,000 barrels per day within
the next four years.
Elf and ENI are 55-45 partners in the deal, which calls for an initial
investment of 540 million dollars.
French oil group Total signed a contract in 1995 to develop two oilfields,
Sirri A and E, in the Gulf, close to Dubai's territorial waters, for a
total investment of around 660 million dollars.
Links
