His Majesty King Abdullah on Friday held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy focusing on means to bolster bilateral ties in various fields and developments in the Middle East.

During their meeting at the southern port city of Aqaba, King Abdullah and Sarkozy stressed their desire to further develop ties in various political, economic and commercial fields.

The King thanked France for its willingness to help the Kingdom implement projects in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

At the meeting, King Abdullah briefed Sarkozy on his meetings and communications with various parties in the region seeking to rally support to help Palestinians and Israelis proceed with negotiations.

Such settlement should address all final status issues and lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state by the end of 2008, His Majesty reiterated.

King Abdullah also thanked France for its role in reaching positive results at the international donor countries' meeting, which was held in Paris recently to support the Palestinian Authority and help it enhance the living condition of Palestinians.

Talks between King Abdullah and the French president also covered developments in Lebanon, with the two leaders stressing their support to efforts exerted to realise national reconciliation and consensus as well as preserve Lebanon's unity and sovereignty.

The two leaders said they were worried about the lack of agreement between the Lebanese powers over the election of a president, saying such consensus would save the country from the serious consequences of continued political vacuum.