法国总统奥朗德访美

法国总统奥朗德访美

French president Francois Hollande has met with his US counterpart Barack Obama, on a two-day state visit that began Monday.

The visit started with a trip by the two to a picturesque estate named Monticello, built by late former US President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was also an early US envoy to France and is honoured with a statue on Paris’s Seine River.

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and French President Francois Hollande (L) tour the Virginia residence of Thomas Jefferson with Leslie Greene Bowman, president and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson foundation, at Monticello in Charlottesville February 10, 2014.

The visit was aimed to symbolize the long-standing ties between the two countries. Talks of the two heads of state will focus on areas where US-French priorities are visibly in sync, such as in efforts to resolve nuclear concerns in Iran, the civil war in Syria and extremism in Africa.

The two sides will also touch on combating climate change and securing a trade deal between the US and Europe. Hollande is expected to visit the White House on his second day of the visit, where he’ll be greeted with trumpet fanfares and a 21-gun salute.

Obama said, "Thomas Jefferson represents what’s best in America, but as we see as we travel through his home, what he also represents is the incredible bond and the incredible gifts that France gave to the United States, because he was a Francophile through and through."

Hollande said, "We were allies in the time of Jefferson and Lafayette. We are still allies today. We were friends at the time of Jefferson and Lafayette and will remain friends forever."