A French official delegation will be in Jerusalem this week negotiating a new two-year cultural protocol within the framework of the 1959 cultural accord between the two countries.
Israeli officials are particularly pleased at this event, since France postponed the session in July when it was originally scheduled because of the Lebanon war. Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir mentioned the meeting at the Cabinet meeting yesterday as an indicator of improving ties with France.
Some official observers here are seeking to set President Francois Mitterrand’s invitation to President Yitzhak Navon to visit Paris within the same context of improving relations. The invitation was conveyed by the French Ambassador in Washington last week — but it now appears that Navon will be unable to take it up on his way home from the U.S. as originally intend ed, because the prospective host, Mitterrand, will be abroad at that time. Israeli sources said there had been a mix-up on the French side, and that Navon would probably make the visit in two or three weeks time.
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