Chirac calls for airline tax to fight AIDS in Africa
French president Jacques Chirac has called for a tax on airline fuel and tickets to be introduced before the end of the year to help poor countries fight various diseases, including HIV/AIDS in Africa. Speaking at a French-Japanese economic forum in Tokyo during his three-day visit to Japan, Mr Chirac said the proposal could save three million lives a year. The proposal is one of many far-reaching ideas backed by the French president, including a tax on international financial transactions, to support development and the fight against HIV/AIDS. 'France and Germany together are calling for the creation by the end of the year, along with all countries that wish, for a first international solidarity tax on kerosene and airline tickets to fund the fight against AIDS and the great pandemics that are decimating Africa,' Mr Chirac said. 'More than three million lives saved each year: that's what is at stake,' he added. The French President presented his idea to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and said he wanted to take it forward at the July G8 summit in Scotland and the September summit of the UN in New-York. According to Mr Chirac, it is possible to rapidly co-finance programmes involving the public and private sector in the technology, energy, environmental and ICT (information and communication technology) fields, inferring that the same should be true of humanitarian programmes. Mr Chirac called on Mr Koizumi to support his initiatives destined to 'make globalisation more humane'. During his visit to Japan, Mr Chirac and Mr Koizumi also discussed the issue of ITER. At a press conference, Mr Chirac stated he was confident that Japan and the EU could compromise over their competing bids to host the reactor but gave no indication of where it would be built. The French president is the first foreign leader to see the World Exposition, a six-month display of technology and innovation, which has sustainable development as its theme. During the French-Japanese economic forum, Mr Chirac called for Japan and France to team up on sustainable development by creating' a political, but also scientific and industrial alliance.'
Countries
France, Japan