PARIS - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is paying an official visit to French capital of Paris, met on Tuesday French President Jacques Chirac.
Chirac will host a working lunch in honor of Erdogan and accompanying delegation after their meeting.
Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin responsible for Turks living abroad, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier are other participants of the meeting at the French Presidential Office.
Turkish and French officials will focus on topics like Turkey`s European Union (EU) membership process, and EU Commission`s progress report on Turkey to be announced in October.
Besides Turkey-EU relations, Turkish and French officials will discuss bilateral issues, and regional issues like Iraq, the Middle East and Caucasus.
Erdogan and Chirac, in their meeting, are expected to discuss Turkish-French cooperation in some areas like energy, transportation, aviation and industry.
(BRC-AÖ) 20.07.2004