ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN CUBA, 10-14 APRIL
The Secretary-General arrived in Havana, Cuba, in the evening of Monday, 10 April, where he was warmly greeted by Cuban President Fidel Castro. The President accompanied the Secretary-General to his guest quarters, where they chatted informally for about half an hour.
On Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General went to Revolution Square, where the President offered a formal welcome. They and their delegations then met at the Presidency for almost two hours. During that meeting, the Secretary-General presented the President with a copy of his Millennium Report and expressed his hope that the President would attend the Millennium Assembly in September. He then walked the President through the main points of the report. A broad and general discussion followed, touching on governance, trade and values.
The Secretary-General then proposed a one-on-one meeting with the President, but instead the President offered a private lunch.
Before that lunch, the Secretary-General was joined by his wife Nane for a walk across Revolution Square to lay a wreath at the 103-metre tall monument to Jose Martí, the revolutionary poet, writer and journalist who died at the end of the last century at the age of 42 in a battle for the independence of Cuba from Spain.
After lunch, the Secretary-General went to the University of Havana, where he delivered an address on globalization. Arguing that good governance is essential for economic growth, he said, A State that denies itself open, democratic processes and institutions will thereby impede the development and progress of its people, denying them the chance to interact fully with the larger world. He took a number of questions from the audience (see SG/SM/7357).
On the way out of the University building, he took a few questions from the press and then spoke with a student leader. In the late afternoon, he strolled around the restored historic centre of old Havana, chatting with shopkeepers and people on the street. He took a few questions from the accompanying press and then returned to the guesthouse for a private dinner.
On Wednesday, 12 April, he attended the opening of the South Summit of the so-called Group of 77 developing countries, formed in 1964 to fight poverty and promote development, and which today numbers 132 countries, plus China.
In his statement to the Summit, he called on the developing countries of the South to work more closely together and said that South-South cooperation was now a pillar of the new approach of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The timing of the meeting, he said, could not be better. It comes just five months before the Millennium Summit, at which world leaders are expected to define the kind of United Nations they want to see in the twenty-first century. At that gathering, he declared, "the South's voice should not only be loud, but also clear, consistent and constructive".
He urged the heads of State to read his Millennium Report, and to react to his proposals to reduce poverty, curtail illegal small arms trade, and help poor countries benefit from the information technology revolution. He called for a strengthening of the United Nations so that the global economy could be made more equitable by underpinning it with rules based on shared social objectives and institutions (see SG/SM/7358).
In the margins of the Summit on Wednesday, the Secretary-General held the following bilateral meetings:
12:30 p.m.: President Olesegun Obesanjo of Nigeria -- on the situation in Sierra Leone and African health issues, among other matters.
1:20 p.m.: with United Nations agency heads -- Jose Antonio Ocampo of ECLAC; Carol Bellamy of UNICEF; Mark Malloch-Brown, UNDP; Nafis Sadik, UNFPA; Peter Piot, UNAIDS -- on each agency's approach to the South Summit and their individual objectives.
1:35 p.m.: United States Senator John Kerry, (Democrat of Massachusetts) -- on the Cambodia trial for the Khmer Rouge.
3 p.m.: Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia -- on efforts to narrow the differences regarding the Khmer Rouge trial. They agreed that the two working groups, one from the United Nations and the other from Cambodia, would meet once again in the very near future.
3:45 p.m.: President José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola -- on peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations humanitarian efforts in Angola, regional issues, followed by a tête-à-tête.
4:20 p.m.: President Sam Nujuma of Namibia -- on the United Nations peace plan for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and regional issues.
4:30 p.m.: President Tran Duc Luong of Viet Nam -- on the United Nations reconstruction efforts in Viet Nam, the role of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and regional development and cooperation.
5:15 p.m: General Pervez Musharraf, Chief Executive of Pakistan -- on the General's plan for democratization of Pakistan and regional security issues.
6 p.m.: President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique -- on short- and medium- term plans for rebuilding after the recent floods and the role of the United Nations, governments and private actors in these efforts.
6:45 p.m.: Yassir Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority -- on the Middle East peace talks and Israel's announced plan to withdraw from Lebanon.
7:30 p.m.: President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana -- on the Sierra Leone peace process, West African regional issues; followed by a tête-à-tête.
That evening, the Secretary-General attended a reception hosted by President Castro.
On Thursday morning, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan visited the Jose Martí primary school in Havana. Their guide was a 10-year old boy, who showed them around the school complex before taking them to a classroom, where the Secretary-General and his wife sat with the students during a lesson given by one of the teachers. The children also danced and sang for their visitors.
The Secretary-General then resumed bilateral meetings with visiting dignitaries, as follows:
10:50 a.m.: President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea -- on efforts to secure peace with neighbouring Ethiopia and how to achieve effective distribution of international aid to the famine-stricken region.
11:05 a.m.: Ethiopian Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, Girna Birru -- on Mission of Special Envoy Catherine Bertini, effectiveness of distribution of relief supplies.
11:30 a.m.: Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara of Syria -- on Israel's plan to withdraw from Lebanon, Middle East peace process.
12:10 p.m.: First Vice-President of Iran, Hasan Habibi -- on problems connected with the enforcement of sanctions against Iraq, as well as peace efforts in Afghanistan.
12:45 p.m.: Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah El-Khatib of Jordan -- on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, weapons inspection regime for Iraq, and other matters.
The Secretary-General also attended an Interactive Session for heads of State at the Group of 77 Summit, as well as a luncheon hosted by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Over lunch, he had an extended conversation with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.
In the afternoon, the bilateral meetings continued:
4:45 p.m.: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria -- on Lebanon, Western Sahara and the Middle East peace process.
5:30 p.m.: Vice-President Juan Francisco Reyes Lopez of Guatemala -- on efforts to peacefully resolve Guatemala's territorial dispute with Belize. The Secretary-General was pleased to receive Guatemala's assurance to abide by arbitration.
6:10 p.m.: President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali on the Sierra Leone peace process and West African regional issues.
6:25 p.m.: President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe -- on peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
6:45 p.m.: President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia -- on East Timor's transition to independence.
On Friday morning, the Secretary-General stopped by the United Nations offices in Havana to address the assembled staff.
He then went on to the Conference Centre to continue his bilateral meetings and to attend the final session of the Summit. At midday he met with the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Mohamed Said Al-Sahaf. They covered the full spectrum of issues covered by Security Council resolutions on Iraq: sanctions regime; weapons inspections; banking issues; stolen property; and prisoners of war.
The Secretary-General also had a private meeting with Percival Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
General Raul Castro, First Deputy President, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Armed Forces, bade farewell to the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan at the airport before their departure to New York on Friday afternoon.