About time they got off Falcone's back.Reuters, Wednesday May 21...

About time they got off Falcone's back.

Reuters, Wednesday May 21 2008

France to sign Angola deals on fence-mending tripReuters, Wednesday May 21 2008 PARIS, May 21 (Reuters) - France will sign commercial deals with Angola when President Nicolas Sarkozy visits the African country on Friday in a trip aimed at soothing long-simmering tensions between the two nations, officials said on Wednesday.
One of the biggest deals will involve French electronics group Thales which is expected to sign a contract worth some 140 million euros ($220.7 million) to supply a secure telecommunications network for the Angolan government.
Bank Societe General is due to open $300 million of credit lines to finance trade between the two countries, while Total, which operates offshore oil fields in Angola, is expected to finance a school-building programme.
Total said Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie would accompany Sarkozy in the trip.
A fourth deal involved Castel, which was expected to invest between 200-300 millions euros in breweries in Angola, the officials said, declining to be named ahead of the official unveiling of the projects.
Beyond commercial accords, Sarkozy's visit was mainly aimed at normalising Franco-Angolan relations, soured in recent years by the so-called Angolagate scandal that involved arms sales to the war-torn African country in the 1990s.
Arms traders Pierre Falcone, a Frenchman, and Israeli national Arkady Gaydamak, are accused of paying a network of political contacts -- including a son of late President Francois MItterrand -- to favour their activities in the African country.
Sarkozy and Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos will seek to "turn the page" on this scandal, a presidential source said.
The last French president to visit Angola was Jacques Chirac, in June 1998.
Sarkozy has made a number of visits to sub-Saharan countries since taking office last May, including a trip to South Africa in February. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, writing by Maire Maitre, editing by Crispian Balmer and Matthew Jones) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) BusinessLatest news on guardian.co.uk
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