Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am extremely happy to be back here in Khartoum. This is my first visit here as Secretary-General. I stopped here three years ago. I made a technical stop. The Foreign Minister came to receive me and talked to me briefly at the airport and warned me that this (visit) doesn't count, you have to come back and now I'm here today and I think I come at a time when the peace process has been re-energized, and we see some good signs. I had a good discussion with President Moi, who was leader of IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development), he is leading the talks. I also hope to have a talk with the leaders here about our humanitarian efforts and I'm very happy that we have been able to come to an arrangement in the Nuba mountains, and that we can do that in other areas, replicate the arrangements and provide greater access to the needy and I hope that as the result of this visit and frank discussions we are going to have, our humanitarian activities would be much, much smoother, and I'm looking forward to that result. I'll take your questions.

Q: How concerned are you about the ban of flights into certain areas of the south, according to UN estimates denying over a million people assistance?

SG: It is one of the issues that I will be taking up with the government. As an organization that does lots of humanitarian work, we are always concerned and extremely disturbed if we do not have free and unfettered access to those in need and I'm sure the government will share my concern that we do not want to see anyone in need deprived of that need and I hope during my visit here we will work out concrete arrangements for opening up those areas.

Q: What is your impression of your visit to Durban [inaudible] ... African Union?

SG: There was quite a lot of excitement in Durban. I think everybody was happy to see the African Union born and they saw this as an opportunity to move Africa forward. What I was particularly pleased about is the emphasis on democracy, on the rule of law, on the respect for human rights and the fact that we should stop ignoring the rights of minorities and their determination to ensure that elections will be free and fair and that through the arrangements of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) they will set up peer review group to monitor each others behavior. If this is done I think Africa will have taken a giant step forward, as President Mbeki said. So we've made the promises. Durban was a moment of celebration and a moment of hope, but we have to make it happen. As I said, we should be careful not to take hope for achievement. We have long, long and hard work ahead of us, if we are going to make it succeed.

Q: Sudanese Government and rebel movement have reached an atmosphere of understanding, what is the role of UN in supporting peace building in Sudan?

SG: We have been persistent in our support for the peace effort and that is also one of the reasons I am here. We have been supporting the efforts of IGAD, working with other countries in the region, Egypt and Libya, who have also shown keen interest. What is important is that we are at the stage where all the parties have come together and we are moving in the same direction. The friends of IGAD -- the US, Norway, the UN and the countries in the region -- and I think if we pull our efforts and sustain the negotiations we should be able to make progress. This conflict has gone on for far too long. So many people have suffered.

I am from Ghana and like Sudan, we all fought for independence and we had great hopes and wonderful dreams when we gained our independence. Nobody fought for independence to end up in starvation. [Inaudible] And, we have to admit that when we fought for independence we talked of freedom, liberty, and a hungry man is not free. We really have to work hard to deal with this and I think with good will and effort, we will do it.

I am happy to see women journalists here because the gender balance and empowerment of women is also extremely important on this continent, and if we do not use their talents and respect their rights, it is our societies that suffer. Somebody said an eagle cannot fly with one wing. So by depriving our women of their education, of health and of their rights, we are crippling ourselves, and I think this message is beginning to get through so I'm relying on all of you to work with us in that direction. Thank you very much. *****