17 May 2001

The President today met with the Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa from the Department of Political Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim A. Gambari. Their discussion concerned the upcoming session of the open-ended working group on Africa. The vice-chairmen of the working group, Ambassador Shamshad Ahmad of Pakistan and Ambassador Inocencio F. Arias of Spain also attended the meeting.

The President today presided over the second day of the open-ended informal meeting of the plenary on the question of revitalization of the General Assembly. Mr. Holkeri made concluding remarks at the end of the meeting. The full text of his remarks is available on the Statements and Messages page.

The President also met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chezh Republic, H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan. During the meeting, he summarized his key priorities as President. He also made some observations about the work of the Organization.

For the second day, the President attended the meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly.