Chirac receives Laura Bush ahead of UNESCO meeting

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Chirac receives Laura Bush ahead of UNESCO meeting

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United States first lady Laura Bush was received by French President Jacques Chirac on Monday morning before attending a ceremony marking her country's return to UNESCO after 19 years of absence, the French presidential office announced.

Chirac "is glad to receive Mrs. Bush at the Elysee Palace one week after his meeting with the American president (George W. Bush) in New York," said Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.

Chirac was in New York attending the United Nations general assembly last week and met with Bush on the Iraqi situation, an issue straining the Paris-Washington relations for months.

Chirac and Mrs. Bush had "a friendly conversation" focused on cultural issues, notably on cultural diversity, elimination of illiteracy and education and health problems, said Colonna.

Laura Bush was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to France Howard Leach during the meeting.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Bush is to attend the UNESCO general conference and celebrate her country's return to the UN body with a flag-raising ceremony. She is to address the conference at about1500 (1300 GMT).

The United States under president Ronald Reagan withdrew from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1984 to protest what it criticized as mismanagement and anti-Western bias.

The UNECSO general conference will run to October 17 to discussdraft texts on protecting intangible cultural heritage such as languages, culture in times of war and occupation and artistic works held in digital media like the Internet.

It will be attended by five heads of state -- Chirac, Carlo Azeglio of Italy, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Alejandrio Toledo ofPeru and Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines -- and more than 300 ministers.

Laura Bush will leave Paris for Moscow on Tuesday morning.

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