Ankara, Jan 27 (IANS) French President Francois Hollande will visit Turkey Monday, the first such visit by a head of state of France in 22 years, aiming to restore bilateral political and economic ties, said Turkish diplomatic sources.
Hollande will meet President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan here in a bid to thaw the once-frosty bilateral ties, reported Xinhua.
Turkey will seek the French president's support on opening certain European Union (EU) accession chapters for its membership negotiations in 2014.
When Hollande came to power in 2012, France lifted its blockage on one of the EU negotiation chapters and paved the way for resumption of stalled talks between the EU and Turkey.
His predecessor Nicholas Sarkozy had blocked five negotiation chapters of Turkey's EU membership talks, since he was against the country's bid for EU membership, and relations between Ankara and Paris got strained as a consequence.
The French president's visit is expected to restore particularly the economic ties which were strained during the political clash between the two countries in the past years.
Hollande will travel to Istanbul Tuesday, where he will participate in a business forum with a prominent business delegation accompanying him.
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