19 March 2001

Today the President met with the two vice-chairpersons of the Open-ended Africa Working Group, H.E. Mr. Inocencio F. Arias, Permanent Representative of Spain and H.E. Mr. Shamshad Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan, to discuss the preparations for the organizational session of the Working Group which will be held on 20 March 2001.

The President met with a group of graduate students in Public Affairs from Cornell University. The President spoke to the students about the work of the General Assembly, focusing on the ongoing Millennium Assembly and his role as its President. The briefing was followed by question-answer session.

The President attended a reception on the occasion of the Constitution Day of the Principality of Andorra, hosted by H.E. Mr. Juli Minoves-Triquell, Permanent Representative of Andorra.

Later in the day the President gave an address to the American Scandinavian Society under a topic: "Towards a Stronger United Nations". In his address Mr. Holkeri spoke about the ongoing process of strengthening the United Nations and how he as the President has made the reform as one of his priorities. The full text of his remarks is available on the "Statements and Messages" page.