ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN PARIS, LONDON AND DAVOS 26 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY
Press Release
SG/T/2115
ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN PARIS, LONDON AND DAVOS 26 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY
19980204 (Received from the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.)The Secretary-General departed for France on Monday, 26 January. On Tuesday, 27 January, he met with the President of the French Senate, René Monory, at the Palais du Luxembourg. He then held a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Hubert Védrine at the Quai d'Orsay, which was followed by a working lunch.
During his meeting with Mr. Monory, the following issues were discussed: the United Nations financial crisis; reform of the Organization; and the situation in Angola, Iraq, Algeria and Africa, particularly in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
During his meeting with Foreign Minister Védrine, the Secretary-General talked about United Nations reform; enlargement of the Security Council; and the situation in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Iraq, as well as the evolving situation in Western Sahara and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Regarding the situation in Algeria, the Foreign Minister informed the Secretary-General of the results of the European mission to Algiers.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the President of France, Jacques Chirac, with whom he discussed the Central African Republic, Iraq, Western Sahara, Algeria and the recent European Union visit there, United Nations reform, special session of the General Assembly on illicit drugs in June in New York, Africa in general, and the Great Lakes region in particular. This meeting took place at Palais de l'Elysée.
In the evening, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, their first meeting since Mr. Jospin was elected to office.
On Wednesday, 28 January, the Secretary-General travelled to London where, upon arrival, he spoke by telephone with the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Yevgeny Primakov, on the question of Iraq.
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On the morning of 29 January, he met with Lord Noel Gilroy Annan. Eighty-one year-old Lord Annan is an author and academic and, since 1965, a Life Peer. He served in the British War Cabinet Offices and Military Intelligence during the Second World War. Lord Annan briefed the Secretary-General on the previous day's session in the House of Lords, which had held an extensive review of international affairs with special emphasis on Britain's role in its capacity as current President of the European Union. Lord Annan said the House had been unanimous in the opinion that United Nations resolutions should be respected and implemented. The two Annans also discussed a number of world issues including those on Iraq, Africa, Northern Ireland and the Asian economic situation.
At 1 p.m. the Secretary-General attended a working luncheon given in his honour by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, Robin Cook. They conducted a review of the following subjects: Iraq, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Algeria, Western Sahara, Sierra Leone, United Nations reform and the financial crisis, as well as the question of United States arrears. The lunch was attended on the British side by Minister of State, Tony Lloyd; Political Director, Jeremy Greenstock; Director of Africa and Commonwealth Affairs, Richard Dales; Director of Middle East and North Africa, Derek Plumbly; and Director for Global Issues and the United Nations Department, Tony Brenton.
Before his departure to Davos that afternoon, the Secretary-General met informally, at Heathrow Airport, with the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bizima Karaha. They discussed developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as the progress of the human rights investigative team. They also discussed the "friends of Congo" meeting in Brussels and its positive results.
At Davos, the Secretary-General participated in the World Economic Forum and had bilateral meetings. On the morning of Friday, 30 January, the Secretary-General met at 9 a.m. with the Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi. They discussed the situations in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Minister for the constructive role his country was playing in the region and said that he was looking forward to continued cooperation with Iran, not only in its national capacity but also as current Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
After the meeting the Secretary-General was asked by the Iranian and by Reuters TV whether the current crisis with Iraq on the issue of inspections would have an impact on his recommendations regarding the implementation of the "oil for food" resolution. He said, "We need to see the two things completely separately. There is a discussion between Iraq and the international community about complying with Security Council resolutions and implementing them in full. If Iraq did that, some day we will see the light
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at the end of the tunnel. If it did not, there may be serious consequences as those discussed now. The "oil for food" scheme is different -- the international community has no war with the Iraqi people. The United Nations feels their pain. We do not want them to suffer. The sanctions were not to punish the Iraqi people. "Oil for food" was offered to assist. What has happened recently will have no impact on it".
At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the senior United Nations officials attending the World Economic Forum -- the High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata; the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Vladimir Petrovsky; the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rubens Ricupero; the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson; the Administrator of UNDP, James Gustave Speth; and Assistant Secretary-General, John Ruggie. The Secretary-General recalled that one of his priorities was to establish a new partnership between the United Nations and the international business community and discussed with his senior aides avenues to translate the potential for partnership into action.
At 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the President of Romania, Emil Constantinescu. The President expressed his support to the Secretary-General for his efforts to reform the United Nations and pledged the cooperation of his country to United Nations activities. The Secretary-General thanked the President for the support and contribution of his country, including to peacekeeping operations.
At 11 a.m., the Secretary-General met with Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, who is the Rapporteur of the 1998 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. The Secretary-General reiterated to her his congratulations at her nomination as the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and said that he looked forward to working with her. Before the meeting, the Secretary-General had stated to Norwegian Television, "I congratulate Dr. Brundtland on her election. I am very happy to see her in the international system, to make the international system what it ought to be." Asked what should be her role in the future, he stated, "I think what is important for an organization is to be aware of its priorities and its core activities, to set its priorities, to manage them effectively, to have an impact at the end of the day on the ground for the peoples of the world who depend on it".
At 11:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the Counsellor to the President of the United States, Thomas McLarty. They discussed the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on illicit drugs and the consequences of the Asian financial crisis on the world's economy.
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At noon, the Secretary-General had a tête-à-tête meeting with the President of Switzerland, Flavio Cotti. Before the meeting the Secretary-General responded to questions on Iraq put to him by Swiss Television. The Secretary-General said, "The solution all of us would prefer is a political and diplomatic solution. And efforts are still going on to get Iraq to comply with Security Council resolutions. We have had these problems before, so I do not exclude the possibility that Iraq comply and if it does comply, then we will go on with our work as quickly as possible and they will see light at the end of the tunnel". Asked what would happen if Iraq did not comply, he said: "If Iraq does not comply, I think you heard some of the permanent members say that all options are on the table. And I appeal to them -- the Iraqi people have suffered enough; they have been through major tragic events and they don't need another one and, therefore, for the sake of the people, the sake of humanity, they should work with the international community and avoid a confrontation".
At 1 p.m., over lunch, the Secretary-General attended a working session of the Business Consultative Group to International Organizations.
At 3:30 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Rosario Green, who congratulated the Secretary-General on the success of his reform efforts. They discussed the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that there would be good attendance and the Foreign Minister stressed the importance of the session for Mexico and Latin America.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the President of the International Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of Nestlé SA, Helmut Maucher, They discussed avenues to pursue further the partnership between the United Nations and the private sector. He then met with the Speaker of the House of the United States, Newt Gingrich. They discussed prospects for the appropriation of funds to pay the arrears and dues to the United Nations.
At 7:15 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Deputy President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki. They discussed the situation in Angola and in the Great Lakes region.
On Saturday, 31 January, the Secretary-General started the day at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast meeting hosted by the President of Switzerland, Flavio Cotti, devoted to a discussion of small arms. The breakfast meeting was also attended by the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), José Solana; the Foreign Minister of Australia, Alexander Downer; the Vice-Foreign Minister of Canada, Donald Campbell. They had an in-depth discussion on issues related to the control of small arms, and agreed to pursue sustained intellectual efforts in this area.
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At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General had a meeting with Mrs. Ogata, during which they discussed the situation in Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region in light of the forthcoming trip of the High Commissioner to the region. They also discussed the refugee situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At 10 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings. They discussed the situation in the West African region, including in Liberia, and the role played by the United Nations.
At 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Bill Richardson. They discussed the Iraqi situation and the Secretary-General's forthcoming report (document S/1998/90) on the "oil for food" scheme.
At 11 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Amre Moussa. They discussed the Iraqi crisis as well as the situation in the Middle East. Referring to the forthcoming trip of the Secretary-General to the Middle East, the Foreign Minister stated that his President was looking forward to welcoming the Secretary-General.
From 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Secretary-General participated in a panel discussion on the theme "Global Institutions -- Revitalizing Global Institutions: What Priorities? What Actions?" The discussion was held as part of the plenary sessions of the 1998 annual meeting of the Davos World Economic Forum. The panel was chaired by the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice Strong, and included the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Stanley Fischer; the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Donald Johnston; the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Renato Ruggiero; and the Vice-President of the World Bank, Sven Sandstrom. The Secretary-General delivered a statement (see Press Release SG/SM/6448) and participated in the ensuing discussion.
At 1 p.m., the Secretary-General gave a thirty-minute press conference at the Davos Congress Center. He was asked questions on economic issues relating to Africa, the Asian crisis, and the role of the IMF; Iraq and Algeria. Asked what concrete steps Saddam Hussein should take to avoid the use of force, he stated that Saddam Hussein should give access to the United Nations inspectors to palaces and cooperate with them; "Then there would be no need for further discussion."
At 2:40 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Viktor Chernomyrdin. They discussed the Iraqi crisis as well as the forthcoming report of the Secretary-General on the "oil-for-food" scheme.
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At 3 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Jean-Luc Dehaene. Their discussion centred on the situation in Africa, particularly the Great Lakes region.
From 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Secretary-General participated in a discussion session with members of the Informal Group of the World Economic Leaders.
At 4:30 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ismail Cem. They discussed the Iraqi crisis and the situation in Cyprus.
At 5 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Vice-President of Bolivia, Jorge Quiroga Ramirez. The Vice-President thanked the Secretary-General for the United Nations contribution to the country's poverty reduction programme. They also discussed the fight against drugs and the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on the subject.
At 5:30 p.m., the Secretary-General met with Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Member of the Israeli Knesset. They discussed the Middle East situation and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
At 6 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. They discussed the Iraqi crisis, the situation in Afghanistan and the question of Kashmir.
At 7 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Vice-Premier of the State Council of China, Li Lanqing. The Secretary-General expressed satisfaction with the good relations between China and the United Nations and congratulated China for its follow-up actions with a view to implement the resolutions of the series of United Nations global conferences. They also discussed the current financial crisis in Asia and the role played by China in this instance.
At 7:45 p.m., the Secretary-General took part in a working dinner session focusing on the role of global institutions in managing increased volatility.
On Sunday, 1 February, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan had breakfast with the President of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, and Mrs. Schwab, before leaving for the airport to return to New York.
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