Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Tsunami-affected Countries

The Secretary-General has indeed offered to former U.S. President Bill Clinton the position of his Special Envoy for Tsunami-affected Countries and President Clinton has accepted. The Secretary-General is confident that President Clinton will bring energy, dynamism and focus to the task of sustaining world interest in the vital recovery and reconstruction phase following the Tsunami disaster that hit south Asia on 26 December 2004. He believes that no one could possibly be better qualified for this task.

The Secretary-General and the President agreed that a formal announcement with a joint appearance by both should await President Clinton's return from a visit to the region with former U.S. President George Bush later this month.