Prime Minister Prodi: (translated from the Italian)It fills me with pride, and you can easily understand why, to receive here at Palazzo Chigi a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a man who has dedicated all his life to the United Nations and to the defence of the values of fraternity and solidarity in the world. To have him here helps us better understand the role of international institutions in today's world and how they contribute to the common wellbeing.

The strong commitment that has always characterized Italy in support of the United Nations is based on the full engagement to the principal and values of multilateralism, values which today mark the need to live together in a shared world. Italy is the sixth contributing country to the UN budget and the UN's activities in the world. We are therefore proud to bring forward this choice of ours, and to keep multilateralism as our foreign policy's reference point.

Thousands of our soldiers, of our operators and our technicians operate under the United Nation's flag. It's not just a matter of numbers, however significant, but it's a clear and strong choice in which the whole country identifies itself.

In such a difficult phase of history, the role of the UN is to have no doubts, to continue striving for a positive and common policy towards world peace, without giving in to the blackmail of terrorism or to the fear of taking decisions which are always difficult.

We often talk about peacekeeping, and thanks to the UN this word is always associated with the term of peacebuilding. This is our goal: not simply building peace, but also maintaining it.

Just yesterday, in a meeting with non-governmental organizations and the Italian volunteering associations, I underlined the importance of their work, of that drop that daily erodes the stone of indifference: a constant commitment without which even major projects would be useless.

I want to connect these two moments together: the actions of individuals and those of countries, those of non-governmental organizations and those of organized governments, unified under an ideal, yet concrete mission, of building a world of peace.

In our meeting of today, which was heartfelt and productive, we have spoken about several issues: institutional topics such as the reform process of the Organization and of the Security Council, but also on situations in different areas of the world, including those where Italy is directly involved. We have spoken about Iraq, Afghanistan, and above all of the latest developments in Israel and Lebanon. Italy's commitment towards peace and multilateralism will endure because it's impossible to imagine an Italy that doesn't engage itself on the front line against terrorism and violence, one that doesn't endorse policies of aid and development for the Developing Countries and the Least Developed Countries.

Furthermore, we have recalled that Italy's presence in the United Nations is of vital importance, how it strengthens with time and that Italy is one of the UN's principal centres, after New York, Geneva and on the same level of Vienna and Paris. I would like to hereby underline the importance of FAO, IFAD, and PAM in Rome, and to remind that in Brindisi, there is one of the UN's biggest logistic bases, while Turin hosts the Staff College, the UN's training school which we would like to see grow in the future. In this regard, I have reassured the Secretary General of Italy's support to the Staff College so that it can develop vigorously, since it is and will be a point of reference for the future UN.

I won't add anything else. I want to give the floor to the SG, thanking him wholeheartedly for the extraordinary work he has been carrying out, a work which, despite the many moments of the UN's marginalization, had had positive outcomes for peace and development in the world. We really thank him for making this official visit to Italy in a period so full of engagements and difficulties. It's truly a sign of friendship that we won't forget.

SG: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister; good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm extremely happy to be back in Rome and to be able to exchange ideas and words with the Prime Minister, my good and old friend and to say that this visit gave me an opportunity of a lunch to toast the champions who brought so much joy to Italians everywhere

[Prodi: we did it but we toasted also to France]?

SG: Yes, we toasted to France as well, you know. In fact I think you toasted to the quasi-champions which was wonderful, but it brought so much joy not only to Italians, but to citizens everywhere and that brief moment the whole world was at one united and enjoying the magic of soccer and speaking the language of football.

But as the Prime Minister indicated we had the opportunity to discuss many important issues, from Darfur to Afghanistan, to Iran, North Korea and the Middle Eastern situation, where we both feel extremely concerned by what is happening, and I condemn without reservation the attack that took place in [the] southern Lebanon [region] and demand that the Israeli troops be released immediately and I offer my sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who may be missing or may have suffered a worse fate. I call for immediate and uninterrupted action by leaders in the region to support this demand. I think they should also do whatever they can to press all parties to exercise restraint. We are looking at a very dangerous part of the world and we would not want to see an expansion, an escalation, of conflict in the region and it is important that all concerned exercise maximum restraint. But this should not be left to the parties, and the leaders of the region and around the world should bring whatever influence they have to bear for us to achieve this result and also to see the release of the soldiers.

Let me finally add that we often have been placed in situations where we condemn terrorism and terrorist acts, but the Prime Minister and I discussed the need for a moral clarity. In whatever happens in the region, every effort must be taken not to harm civilians. The deliberate attacking and maiming of unarmed civilians is terrorism pure and simple, whatever the cause, and very serious measures have to be taken to protect civilians in circumstances like this, and that appeal I hope will be heeded by all sides.

And let me finally thank the Prime Minister and the Government and the people of Italy for their strong support they have given to the UN throughout and the model membership they have shown in the Organization. And of course Italy and Rome is a very important home to the UN with three major organizations here in Rome, as the Prime Minister said: FAO, WFP and IFAD, and of course the important logistic base in Brindisi and the UN Staff College in Turin with our very able director, Staffan de Mistura, who is here with us today, and I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot from him as he champions and tries to expand the activities of the centre.

Q: Mr Secretary General, Maurizio Caprara, of the Corriere della Sera. What do you think about the role that Italy is playing in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan? Are you satisfied about the results? Should we do more?

SG: Let me say that the situation in Afghanistan is one of those situations where international solidarity and cooperation is required. I think one lesson Afghanistan had taught us is that we all live in an interdependent world and we cannot leave countries to their own devices and we saw what happens when you allow a country to become a failed state, without a strong legitimate government. Terrorists take it over, build a base, train, and we saw the results: 9/11. And it is important that we do whatever we can to help stabilize this country, help the government rebuild stability and peace, and in that process we need international cooperation. We all need to pool our efforts and work together to make it happen, and obviously for our efforts to be successful we need a secure environment within which to operate. The UN has a strong political, social and economic development presence on the ground, but we couldn't do our work without the security that NATO and US forces, NATO forces and European countries, including Italy, provide and we are very grateful for that cooperation, that partnership and that attempt to create a secure environment for us to be able to do economic and social work, working with the government on recovery, on reconstruction and strengthening of governmental institutions. And so we are very grateful and I believe it's a wonderful partnership.

Q: On Iran. Has Iran had enough time to respond on the package of incentives, and is now the time for the Security Council to move on a resolution?

SG: Let me say that we do have an important proposal on the table worked on by the six. Iran has had that proposal for some time. I had the chance of meeting with the Iranian President in Gambia last week and we discussed this issue and he indicated that they were considering the proposal seriously. I urged him to try and give an early signal, early indication, that Iran does consider the proposals constructive, takes it seriously and believes it's a basis for negotiations, even if it is seeking further clarification or clarifying ambiguities, as they put it, and I think that exercise is being undertaken by High Representative [Javier] Solana and Mr. [Ali] Larijani, the Iranian negotiator. But I think it is important that if they do take it seriously, as they have indicated, to give a signal what I believe is that we should get everyone to the table as quickly as possible for the negotiations to begin and for us to move forward. Of course, as you have rightly pointed out, there are several actors involved here: you have the group of six, you have the IAEA in Vienna, the atomic agency, and you have the Security Council, and we need to be able to use these instruments to find a solution. The issue of the Security Council is being discussed by the six who put the proposal forward in Paris today. I don't know what the outcome of those discussions would be, but I think what is important is that on this issue the world speaks with one voice and we work together to find a negotiated settlement, because I believe the best solution would be a negotiated one.