Mr. Berlusconi: I am very happy to have here with us the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who I recall is also a Nobel Prize winner that was conferred to him and to the Organization last October. We thank him for the role he has played in favour of peace and the solution of many problems that are afflicting the world.

It is with pleasure that we welcome here the CEB meeting -- of the programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations that are in the UN system and are translating into concrete actions the ideals of peace, justice, generosity and democracy, which are the at the basis of the United Nations.

I had the opportunity to talk with the UN Secretary- General in a private meeting which was very interesting for me because the UN Secretary-General did and had the kindness to update me on the Madrid Summit on the Middle East and the action that the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell is to undertake in the Middle East. We all wish that he can bring back good news and that it will really be possible to find a solution and get the two parties to sit at the negotiating table, under the aegis of the United Nations and the presence of the US, the European Union, the Russian Federation, and the representatives of the Arab League. This is what we hope for because there can be no other solution than a political one to this serious crisis.

I have also had the opportunity to inform the Secretary-General of the work we are carrying out for a digital model for the management of states and I had also the possibility to underline that with your [the Secretary-General's] presence here we will have the 60th ratification of the International Criminal Court, which was set up during the International Conference held in Rome on 17 July 1998. Therefore it is a lucky coincidence that this news and this ratification arrives on the occasion of the presence here of the Secretary-General and I hope that there will be a possibility - if your commitment will allow it - to have a ceremony that could happen on the fourth anniversary of the signing of the ICC Statute which will be next 17 July. I would like to invite you, Mr. Secretary-General hoping that you will accept. I think it is important to underline the birth and existence of this important institution, to which other countries can adhere. And in this regard I want to say that we got the news of the countries that intend to ratify the Statute of the Court and this could stimulate other countries to ratify the Statute and make the Court more representative.

I apologize, Mr. Secretary-General, for my long introduction, but I wanted to summarize some of the issues which we addressed during our encounter and I thank you again for having chosen Italy as the venue of this session. I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Italian Government and on my personal behalf, to congratulate you for the action in favour of peace that you are carrying out with great dedication, great generosity and, I must say, with great capability. To you and to the United Nations that you represent, I extend our sincerest wishes so that your action can make dialogue prevail over confrontation, friendship prevail over hatred. May development and welfare prevail over poverty and over all the problems that poverty involves. Thank you.

SG: Thank you very much Mr. Prime Minister.

Let me tell you that I am also extremely happy to be here, back in Italy, and I think I speak for my colleagues from the UN agencies, who are here with me -- the Chief Executive Board -- and also my wife who is here with me in Rome.

I think I will be very brief - we've covered our discussions comprehensively. What I would want to add is that I had the opportunity to thank the Prime Minister for the contribution Italy is making towards economic development in the Third World, for what European Union did before the Monterrey Conference -- increasing its development assistance to 0.9 percent, with an objective of reaching 0.7 percent. And the Prime Minister was visionary and forward-looking enough to think that he hopes he would go to 1 percent and I couldn't but agree with him, and the sooner the better.

I also looked back on our meeting last year in Genoa where, at that meeting, we focused on issues of economic development, the AIDS epidemic and economic focus on Africa, which led to the G-7 initiative, and their decision to work with African countries on NEPAD; and that was also here in Italy under your Chairmanship. So we are counting on you this year when we go to Canada, to pursue the discussions and the decisions, which were taken in Genoa. And I recall, in Genoa, all the leaders insisted "action". (They) said: Not words, not plans, we want action. And I hope we are going to get it after the meeting in Canada. Thank you very much. *****