Chirac in Libya; first visit by French president

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Chirac in Libya for first ever visit by French head of state

TRIPOLI (AFP) - President Jacques Chirac arrived in Libya on the first-ever visit by a French head of state, confirming maverick leader Moamer Kadhafi's gradual return to international respectability.

Chirac is due to hold talks with Kadhafi focussing on Iraq (news - web sites), Africa, terrorism and economic cooperation, and then fly to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso on Thursday for the biennial summit of French-speaking nations.

Kadhafi, who came to power in a coup in 1969, has undergone a spectacular diplomatic reversal since last year -- agreeing to stop development of weapons of mass destruction, denouncing terrorism and acknowledging responsibility for the Lockerbie and UTA plane bombings in the 1980s.

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