French foreign minister meets Turkish parliament committee chairman

ANKARA (A.A) - France's foreign minister paid a courtesy visit to chairperson of Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday. Alain Juppe had a meeting with Volkan Bozkir at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara. During the meeting, Bozkir defined France as a country of political and economic importance for Turkey, and said Turkey was hosting Juppe in days when the region and world were undergoing significant changes.  Juppe said he knew Turkey for almost 40 years and he had witnessed major developments, adding that such visits aimed to strengthen Turkish-French partnership although countries had some differences of opinion from time to time. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Juppe in Istanbul on Thursday. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Alain Juppe are expected to hold a joint press conference after their tete-a-tete meeting. Juppe is expected to be received by Turkish President Abdullah Gul and meet Turkey's European Union (EU) Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis.