Christian Pineau, former Foreign Minister of France who is regarded here as the architect of Franco-Israel friendship, had a 90-minute talk with Premier David Ben Gurion.
M. Pineau arrived in Israel this morning for an eight-day visit as a guest of Foreign Minister Golda Meir. He also met with Speaker of the Knesset Joseph Sprinzak and is scheduled to confer with several other government leaders tonight.
Simultaneously it was reported here today that the French Government opened the door this week to more favorable treatment for Israel as an exporter to the nations of the European Common market by lowering its tariff barrier on agricultural commodities from the Jewish State. In line with a permissive policy of the common market’s executive board, the French Government cut import duties on Israeli agricultural products by ten percent.
As a result, it is believed, the West German Government will grant Israel similar reductions. Negotiations are due to commence soon between Israel and the Benelux countries–Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxemburg–which are also members of the common market, for similar customs cuts.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
