"This time, the relationship between France and New Zealand is in very, very good shape," Clark told reporters after talks with Chirac and lunch at the Elysee presidential palace.

Ties between Paris and Wellington suffered greatly in 1985 after the French secret service bombed the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior when it was anchored in Auckland. They took a further dive after Chirac decided in 1995 to resume nuclear testing in the Mururoa atoll in the south Pacific.

Aides to the French leader said he was "delighted that after numerous past difficulties, France and New Zealand today maintain excellent relations."

Chirac and Clark discussed a variety of issues, noting their common ground on the war in Iraq -- which they both opposed -- and the importance of multilateralism, but remained far apart on the question of farm policy.

"New Zealand is a strong supporter of multilateralism -- small countries have to be," Clark said.

"We want multilateralism in the way trade is dealt with; we want multilateralism in the way international security issues, like proliferation or nuclear weapons, are dealt with," she noted.

Chriac's office highlighted the numerous issues on which the two countries agree such as "the principles of multilateralism, the problem of sustainable development and the importance of development aid."

But on the issue of agricultural reform within the framework of ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, Clark said that European Union countries like France had to do more to slash subsidies granted to farmers.

"Clearly there's still a long way to move yet before New Zealand can be satisfied," the prime minister said.

The 146-member World Trade Organization is expected to conclude the Doha round of talks on the liberalization of several sectors -- like agriculture, services and tariffs on industrial goods -- by the end of 2004.

The United States and the Cairns Group of big farming exporters such as Australia and New Zealand want the radical liberalization of global farming markets, but the European Union and Japan favor a more cautious approach.

SPACE.WIRE