By KUNA
London : French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for closer ties between France and Britain as he kicked off his first state visit to this country Wednesday.
The President insisted it was time for the two nations to move from “being cordial to being friendly”, with new co-operation over illegal immigration and defence.
“It has been long enough now that we have not been at war, that we are not wrangling”, he told the BBC.
“Perhaps we can move from being cordial to being friendly, that’s my first message”.
“My second message is that this friendship shouldn’t simply be a matter of principle. I want (it) fleshed out by concrete projects on the economy, immigration, security, defence”, he said.
High-level bilateral talks are planned between Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown which will take in a range of topics from global financial issues and energy security in Europe to immigration and Afghanistan, British officials said.
Sarkozy is also due to address a joint session of the Houses of Parliament this afternoon.
But just as much attention is likely to be paid to the President’s high-profile new wife Carla Bruni, who will be at her husband’s side, observers said.
She will be the guest of honour at a lunch hosted tomorrow by the Prime Minister’s wife, Sarah Brown.
Yesterday, Sarkozy became the first major world leader to threaten China with an Olympic boycott in protest at the crackdown in Tibet.
He said he could not rule out refusing to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in August.
Meanwhile, the French President and his wife will also attend a glittering state banquet tonight at Windsor Castle, outside London, where the British Queen Elizabeth has been spending the Easter holiday.
Sarkozy and his wife were arriving this morning and were being greeted at London’s Heathrow Airport by the heir to the British throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on behalf of the Queen.
The couple will be the Queen’s guests at Windsor Castle during their brief stay, and the British Monarch, accompanied by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, will meet them in Windsor before the party makes a state carriage procession through the town to the royal residence.
After a private lunch and a viewing of French items from the Royal Collection, Sarkozy will travel to Westminster Abbey, in central London, to lay a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior, a ritual performed by many visiting heads of state.
Later he will address both Houses of Parliament from the Royal Gallery, followed in the evening by the state banquet.
Sarkozy will hold talks with Brown at 10 Downing Street tomorrow, before attending a UK-France summit at the Emirates stadium, the home of Arsenal football club, in north London.
The club has strong links with France as its manager Arsene Wenger and a number of its players come from the country.
The President’s delegation will include government ministers who will hold talks with their British counterparts while Sarkozy and the Prime Minister meet.
Following the discussions the two leaders will make statements on a number of issues at the stadium.
They are expected to call on banks to come clean about the scale of their bad debts, in the hope of restoring stability to international money markets.
The President and Prime Minister will say that reform of international financial institutions is needed to provide early warnings of future risks to the global economy, the British officials added.
The two leaders are also expected to suggest reform of the UN Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa.
In the afternoon, the Sarkozys will visit Greenwich’s Royal Observatory, in south London.
The President and his wife will attend a Lord Mayor’s banquet in the financial and banking area of London known as the “City” tomorrow evening before leaving the UK.