Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Bernard Membe,

Professor David Mwakyusa, Minister of Health,

Distinguished ambassadors of the diplomatic corps, cabinet ministers, scholars

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's a great honour for me to address a group of such informed and learned people in Tanzania, comprising all sectors of life in Tanzania. This is to me one of the challenges: how to impress you today. I have been speaking to many different groups of people, and whenever I meet the people who I believe should know what I am going to say, it is a very big challenge for me. So, Ambassador Mahiga, if you already know what I am going to say, just shut your ears.

This is my first visit as Secretary-General [to Tanzania] but this is not the first for me personally. It is the third time.

The second time I was here as a candidate for the post of the Secretary-General. At that time I met some of you, and you told me that if you could vote, you certainly would vote for me. Back then I was very grateful for your support. Now I am here as Secretary General and I agree that your judgment was right and I hope you will continue to support me in my role as Secretary General.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Tanzania has an important place in Africa, and in its future.

Julius Nyerere's greatest legacy is your country's sense of national pride and national unity. Christians, Muslims live peacefully together in this country. You have transcended ethnic divides. This is an important example for Africa. But President Nyerere was also a pioneer in his support to non-Tanzanians, offering sanctuary to members of the liberation movements of Southern Africa and also in providing refuge to many from all over east and central Africa.

This year will mark the tenth anniversary of his passing. I would like to honour his memory today by sharing some thoughts about Africa and its future. I am going to address not only the issues of Tanzania but I would like to discuss with you overall issues pertaining to Africa and Africa's role in the international community.

When journalists or scholars write or talk about Africa, normally they talk about poverty corruption, coups d'etat or regional conflict. Africa is commonly seen as a series of disasters and failures. But I think this is a misconception. I have been telling many of my constituencies that Africa is a land of opportunities, and Africa has a great potential. It is only the matter of timing; it's only the matter of will and commitment to explore this potential. One day I tell you when this potential is fully explored you will see explosive energy. This explosive energy will create great strength and power on the African continent, in African countries.

It is true at this time Africa faces tremendous challenges, as advanced by the fact that none among 53 countries in the African continent appears on track to be able to meet or satisfy all the targets of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. And because not a single Sub Saharan African country is on track to realize the MDGs, I' will today focus on how we can explore Africa's potential. We must not let Africa's successes be undermined by global crises.

Last month, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, I urged donors not to forget their commitment to the world's poor. I met with partners and allies, political leaders, business executives and philanthropists. I told them that, now more than ever, it is time to deliver on your promises and on your commitment to help Africa. If we fail to get Africa on board in development and prosperity it will be hard to argue that we are living in a harmoniously prosperous society. Therefore I told them that, Africa is worth investing in.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me give a few examples.

President Julius Nyerere was known throughout Africa and the world as 'mwalimu' because of his background as a teacher. He would be proud to hear of Tanzania's massive gains in primary education enrolment –97.2 per cent in 2008, last year. Uganda and Kenya, too, are track to reach universal primary education.

Tanzania has also achieved gender parity in primary school education. So too has Rwanda. I believe that the first ever female president of Liberia, Johnson Sirleaf would agree to this, and so I think the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and former foreign minister of Tanzania, Dr Migiro will agree with that. Gender equality and women's empowerment are priorities for Africa.

In Rwanda, 56 per cent of parliamentarians are women; that's more that 50 percent. Women make up approximately a third of the cabinet in South Africa. They are helping to drive progressive change. Governments in Africa, and beyond, can learn from their example.

Countries could also learn from Malawi. Malawi used to be very poor particularly in terms of agricultural production. In 2005 they faced a famine. In response, the government began subsidizing fertilizers and high-yielding seeds for small farmers.

In four years time they moved from recipient to being a donor country. In two years time, most recently, they have doubled the production. This model can be replicated. Zambia, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya have announced similar plans. Now in the middle of all this food insecurity Africa can feed itself and in the midst of many diseases Africa also guarantee its own health.

Uganda has a successful ABC programme to combat HIV/AIDS. That stands - ABC - 'Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom'. HIV rates have dropped from 18 per cent in 1995 to 6.4 per cent in 2005.

In Kenya, the Government has increased immunization coverage to more than 80 per cent of its people. There is even better access to drugs, including free antiretroviral drugs. In West Africa there has been real progress on the fight against malaria.

There are other positive examples. I call them seeds of hope. We must nourish them for the sake of ordinary men and women everywhere. Wherever I go, these are the people I would want to speak for. As we are sitting together with the minister of health, we are nearing the complete eradication of polio, with only four places in the world still combating the disease. Very soon we will see the eradication of polio. We will be able to see the extinction on our list of malaria. My special advisor on Malaria is a bit more ambitious, he told me that we could eradicate malaria by 2010 but many people advise me that it's a bit ambitious. But I trust that by 2015 there will be no more malaria. And last year I convened the Millennium Development Goals Summit meeting in the General Assembly. In the midst of the financial crisis, we mobilized 17 billion dollars for that ... I was very much encouraged by all this commitment by world leaders.

Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,

We can not deny that Africa faces serious challenges. It's true that I want to address is climate change. No region of the world will be more affected than Africa at this time.

I have declared 2009 the year of climate change –not just because we need to reach agreement by December this year in Copenhagen on a new global package to follow suit to the Kyoto protocol. Because we need a global green new deal. The global economic crisis can only be truly solved with new approaches on climate and energy.

We know what is needed.

Wealthy nations need to make deep cuts in emissions. Developing countries need more help in adapting to the consequences of climate change. They need more financial and technological support and institutional resources to achieve results and to grow their economies in a green way.

We need to recognize that Africa has special needs.

We need a fund for adaptation. Particularly for Africa developing countries .We need innovative solutions for drought. New technology for irrigation. Drought-resistant seeds. Rainwater harvesting. Help to protect essential watersheds and financial incentives to protect forests.

We need partnerships. Those with financial resources and technological know-how must team up with those who need them. There is clearly some irony when they say that those countries, like African countries, who have contributed the least, the minimum, to the current global warming phenomenon, have to be responsible for them, while those industrialized countries, since the industrial revolution has contributed most of this phenomenon, they cannot be equally responsible. Therefore the international community has agreed on a common principle that while we have to address global warming issues there must be a sense of shared responsibility but in a different way. This is common but differentiated responsibility. Therefore I have been urging industrialized countries that this campaign be led by industrialized countries, European Union and Americans and all OECD members and G20 members they are historically responsible to address this issue. But this is not the time to point a finger at one another because we are all affected, we are all impacted, so we must overcome this one together but there should be some clear differentiations.

This is a message I will take to the G20 summit in London in April. The G20 marks a critical point on the road to Copenhagen. We must achieve consensus on the need for a global green stimulus package. And we must agree on how it will be achieved.

After consultations with so many world leaders I think there are four political targets or even prerequisites for us to achieve progress in meeting the challenges of climate change. First we need to collectively agree on the scientifically informed mid term target by 2020 for industrialized countries in their mitigation efforts. The industrialized countries have been talking about long term goals, long term targets by 2050.When it comes to 2050 people become more generous knowing that it will be 40 years after, now we want the mid term target by 2020. This is a global challenge requiring a global response through global partnership. There is no developed nor developing countries, there is no African nor European countries, this will come to all of us, this will come to planet earth, therefore we need to address this issue on a most urgent basis, in a most serious way .

Second, we must agree on the full scope of mitigation measures for developing countries. Developing countries can not also just stay away from this course. They have to be a part of this process.

Thirdly we must agree on a clear timetable and predictable financing for mitigation and adaptation measures for developing countries facing this problem.

And fourthly we must agree on the governance structure and mechanism to channel financial and technological support for adaptation and greener growth.

At the forthcoming G20 summit I intend to remind world leaders about their existing commitments to Africa, just as I did last month in Davos. Commitments to the Millennium Development Goals must be part of the response to the global recession.

Africa is also suffering from this economic crisis. That is why I will continue to call on Africa's development partners to keep their promises to the continent, even in these difficult times.

At the Gleneagles summit meeting G8 leaders promised to provide 10 billion dollars each year until 2010, when the funds will be raised to 50 billion dollars. Taking into account the current pace of inflation, this will amount in 2050 to some 70 billion dollars. Even so, not much has been forthcoming. And my message to them is that we must not waver in their commitment to the poorest of the poor. We must stand by those who are most vulnerable.

We need a truly global stimulus package that protects the world's poor as well as the rich. It must be well-coordinated and synchronized. I have been urging industrialized countries to do their best to help us overcome this global financial crisis. I welcome their national stimulus packages. While implementing such packages they should pay due attention, due regard to the challenges of developing countries. Industrialized countries cannot address this issue alone. Again this is a global issue, therefore there should be a global response. Piecemeal, nationalist, or protectionist policies will ultimately hurt us all.

And while the developed countries pour trillions of dollars into their domestic economies, who is speaking for the developing economies abandoned to deal with the effects of crisis not of their making?

I will tell them not to lose sight of the big picture. We must remain committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We must work to make sure the people of Africa are healthy, well-nourished and educated, so they can drive development and prosperity on this continent.

That is again my message ladies and gentlemen to the international community.

But I have also my own message to Africa, African people, African leaders.

We need peace in this continent as again President Julius Nyerere said: “Violence is unnecessary and costly. Peace is the only way.”

Violence has cost too many lives, too much destruction on this continent. It has thwarted development for far too long. Conflict in Somalia, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo must stop. There is no higher good than peace.

In South Africa yesterday, I spoke with President Motlanthe. We discussed the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe. This is a political crisis and a humanitarian catastrophe. It is up to us to help, indeed compel, the government of Zimbabwe to do what needs to be done. We know what Zimbabwe needs. Genuine steps towards democracy. Genuine commitment to sharing power. Genuine respect for human rights. And substantial injection of international aid and resources to start the long road to recovery. All of these are interlinked, because without evidence that a power sharing agreement between the protagonists is real then economic assistance will be difficult to collect.

While in South Africa I called for the immediate release of Zimbabwe's political prisoners as concrete evidence for a real desire for reconciliation.

When I met President Mugabe in Addis Ababa last month, I urged him to please release political prisoners. I told him that, now that he is about to embark on national unity process, whether perfect or imperfect, I would still welcome the new unity government. But not only on the ground of human rights but also on the ground for the necessity of promoting national reconciliation it will be a very good political gesture to release the detainees and to adopt amnesty measures. I sincerely hope that he will heed to the call of international community. I also called for immediate action to relieve the humanitarian crisis. Tragically people are continuing to die every day. Until yesterday, a high level humanitarian assessment team that I dispatched there was having very good discussions with the leaders of Zimbabwe. The UN team was welcome there and the Zimbabweans seemed wholeheartedly open to the efforts of this international community to address the humanitarian issues. We will mobilize the necessary humanitarian assistance while we hope that there will also be progress in the political process.

The day after tomorrow, I will be travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In recent months we have seen an intense escalation of violence. I ordered United Nations troops to stand firm against it. Despite our limited resources and capacities we did our best. We saved tens of thousands of civilian lives. I am very proud that many of our peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are Africans as they are in Sudan. They are helping find African solutions to African challenges.

Today's situation on the ground in the DRC is very different. I believe we have every reason for hope. Not only in the DRC, but also in Somalia and Burundi. I would like to commend Tanzania's role and continuous support for the peace agreement in Burundi and for nurturing this difficult transition. I particularly commend the leadership role of President Kikwete as chairman of AU and also as president of Tanzania.

On Monday, I will be in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. There I will meet with African and other world leaders to help the people of Gaza.

As you know, I recently visit Gaza. I stood in the United Nations compound, which was still burning at the time. I saw how extraordinarily difficult life has become for Palestinian people in Gaza. It is up to us to help Gaza rebuild. The people need food. Medicine and water and sanitation. The children need schools. And they need to live free from fear. It is up to us. Now we must not fail them.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In closing, let me say the obvious. Never have the demands on us been so great. The United Nations is being asked to do more than ever in its history. Coordinating the fight against climate change; making the MDGs a reality, not just a promise. Being a force for peace and security in ever more places around the world

By the same measure, never have regional organizations such as the African Union been asked to do more. Expectations are high. We must work together.

I would like to pay tribute to President Kikwete for his leadership of the African Union over the past year. The African Union is playing an ever greater role in promoting and preserving peace.

It has shown itself willing to act in difficult situations, from West Africa to Darfur and Somalia. Where there have been unconstitutional changes of government, as in Guinea and Mauritania, the AU has taken a lead. It has demanded a quick return to constitutional legality.

Such commitment to fundamental principles –the UN's principles –is essential to everything we aspire to. The Millennium Development Goals. Peace and justice. Accountability. Good governance. The rule of law.

These things are indispensable. They must be fought for and vigorously defended. They must never be taken for granted.

Here in Tanzania, we are working the Government to improve governance and fight corruption. We are working to help the country adapt to climate change, improve the environment and ensure food security. We are working to improve the health and educational opportunities of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people.

It is my belief, ladies and gentlemen, that we are providing a good example of partnership for development.

Such examples are sprouting all across Africa. Often they have United Nations backing. Sometimes they are driven by the private sector. Other times they are the brainchild of an individual or a community group, or the result of government policy.

If this is the essence of leadership, then partnership is the essence of effectiveness. It is a big part of the reason we can point to so many success stories.

Tanzania's achievements in primary education, Rwanda's progressive attitude to women's rights, Malawi's impressive advances in agricultural productivity –these are seeds of hope for Africa.

While I am serving as Secretary-General, I promise to do everything in my power and authority to ensure that these seeds of hope receive the nourishment they deserve.

Thank you for your attention.

Q: Mr Secretary-General, I am sure you know that Tanzania is one of the pilot countries on UN reform. Many of us here have been very active in supporting Tanzania and United Nations in this effort of mapping UN support in Tanzania for effectiveness and adapting to new realities. However we also see that these reform efforts require strong champions at the Headquarter level, because in order to proceed it requires a number of decisions that need to be made at HQ level, decisions related to the mandate of the Resident Coordinator, the process of improving joint UN country programmes and harmonization of administrative procedures. And sometimes we have a feeling here that there may be a scarcity of champions for this reform at HQ level. So could you share with us some thoughts on how you and other UN leaders could be effective champions of “One UN” at the country level?

SG: How the United Nations can meet the expectations of the international community, particularly in many developing countries where the United Nations operates, has been a very important thing, a priority for the United Nations. And particularly since I became the Secretary-General; even before I took over, my predecessor, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, established a High Level Panel on how the UN can work more coherently as one team. He left this huge task and I took over and immediately began to implement this. Now, all the funds and resources coming from Member States and the donor community are always limited, every agency of the UN is lacking resources and the idea is that if we combine and work as one, that will really raise productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. In 2007 we started a pilot project and Tanzania is one of the eight pilot countries, where all UN agencies on the ground, through the coordination role of the Resident Coordinator, have coordinated their projects and their available resources and have produced a very good effect. And in fact many countries have volunteered to participate in One UN.

Now, still, we are awaiting the final approval by the General Assembly, although we have in fact been promoting and implementing this One UN policy. My message to our staff, Resident Coordinators and senior representatives of UN agencies has been always that, before embarking on any project, just consult among yourselves and think as one, act as one and deliver as one. This will be a continuing priority.

I am very much grateful to the Tanzanian Government for their generous offer of providing such facilities and full support and I am very glad that we have been successful there. We have the RC here, but I hope all UN agencies will coordinate their work. At the same time I would like to urge donor countries to help this process, donors sometimes earmark funds for specific projects and this money can not be used for any other causes. It helps, but sometimes it may create some hurdles when we want to work as one; but this should come with only coordination between agencies and donor communities.

Q: My question is on regional security. The peace of the African subregion is dependent on other countries like Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia. So I would like to hear from you, Mr SG, what is the position of the UN in these countries in their unique situations? Especially in Ethiopia, where recently we are hearing that operations of Civil Society organizations have been very difficult?

SG: Somalia and Sudan, particularly Darfur, has been the source of a serious concern to the international community for many, many years. Recently in Somalia, with the departure of Ethiopian forces, we have seen encouraging developments of the situation. The election in Somalia of the new president and the appointment of a prime minister and launching of a new cabinet, in accordance with the Djibouti Peace Process, which has been facilitated by the UN, by my Special Representative, has created a good opportunity now. But still the process is very volatile, as we have seen just a few days ago. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has lost 11 Burundi soldiers through an attack by the insurgency; but still I believe we are going towards a positive direction if we nurture this process. The Security Council has decided that I should take necessary measures on an urgent basis to strengthen the capacity of AMISOM, which is composed of soldiers provided by Burundi and Uganda. I have spoken to the respective Presidents of the two countries, who have agreed to maintain their soldiers and in relation to that, have agreed to provide additional soldiers. Nigeria has agreed to provide additional battalions. Now the UN will provide the necessary funding and technical assistance to AMISOM as well as Somalia national forces, police and armed forces. With this process we will strengthen the capacity and training and we will try to maintain peace and security with the new government; then in June or July we will evaluate the situation and try to establish a full UN peacekeeping operation. But for that to be possible, the political atmosphere should be conducive for the UN peacekeeping mission to be able to deployed there. This is what we have in our road map. Now there is another very serious issue of piracy in off the Somali waters, which needs active support from the Americans, European Union and the Russians. We have many naval escorts to protect from the commotion but still we have seen many kidnappings by pirates. We are now trying to eradicate this piracy. Addressing this piracy issue and the political process and security in relation to these three stages, we are now mobilizing those people to provide humanitarian assistance, and all these are comprehensive actions that are in place.

In Sudan –Darfur- the peace has not been restored fully. We have seen so many killings and so many fighting, most recently in Darfur. Now again we have seen some encouraging developments there. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is one of the biggest movements, and the Sudanese government, have agreed to a peace process but this is also very fragile. Many other movements and rebel groups who are acting on their own and who are even beyond control are there. Again here we are taking three tracks in parallel: the peace process between North and Southern Sudan through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; and humanitarian assistance; and the UNAMID process- the UN and the AU joint peacekeeping forces. We are now aiming at 26,000 (UNAMID) soldiers. If we realize this, it will be the largest peacekeeping mission, but we have not yet reached there. We deployed 60 percent by the end of December. Now we are working to try to have a full deployment, but it might take some time.

I am concerned about the pending decision by the ICC on the indictment of President (Omar al-) Bashir. It may have some political impact, but as Secretary-General at this time, whatever this decision of the ICC may be, as the ICC has a distinct mandate and responsibility to ensure that there is justice, we need to strike a sensitive balance on how to ensure justice while keeping peace and stability, and how to keep peace and stability while ensuring justice. This is a very important challenge to the international community. I have talked to President Bashir that whatever decision may be taken, he must act responsibly and protect civilian populations and UN personnel, and commit to implement a peace agreement between the South and North. The Sudanese Government should be also committed, while we will do our best to manage this situation in a manner where we can balance between peace and justice.

Q: The world is going through difficult times. One of the crises is food; as we speak now one billion people are going hungry. We know the efforts that you are taking; you have formed a high-level task force to deal with this problem, but it takes a lot of time to finance agriculture, which is the only source that can give us food. Your Advisor on this issue and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) thinks we should have a global fund to support agriculture, just like we are supporting health. Would you want to comment and give us your opinion?

SG: As you have said we are going through multiple crises. We have seen the energy crisis, we are now experiencing the food crisis and on top of it there is a global financial crisis. Among all these crises, the food crisis has emerged as one of the most serious and urgent one. Last year I established the High Level Task Force to address this issue. This task force comprises all UN related agencies, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). For one billion people to go hungry is very serious, particularly in most of the African countries. This has been affected again by climate change, long spells of drought, flooding and desertification; all these have radically reduced productivity of agriculture. The High Level Task Force convened a meeting in Rome with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General, and on January 26 this year, I convened a meeting together with the Spanish Prime Minister in Madrid to address food insecurity. We are now in a process of mobilizing at least 50 billion dollars to use as a fund to support smallholder farmers, to provide fertilizer, weather resistant seeds and other agricultural inputs. And we are still in the midst of this financial crisis where there is a shortage of funding; I have met many world leaders and personally appealed for contributions, so that many farmers do not miss this planting season. If they miss it, there will be a vicious circle since they will have to wait for another planting season while hungry.

There is another issue on how to streamline the framework and access of this fund where developing countries can apply for the funding, and I know Tanzania has also applied for the funds. I am now trying to make one access point to make it easier.

Q: I would like to know where the UN is standing in addressing the issue of Israeli occupation in Palestine, parts of Syria and Lebanon. Of course we know the Gaza population needs food, their homes are destroyed but what they need most is to put to an end this occupation of the Israelis.

SG: This question is very huge and I might not be able to answer it in just one or two minutes. We have seen this situation during the past six decades, without a solution. There are many serious problems, as we have seen recently in Gaza this February. This has heightened the direct involvement of the international community to address the peace process and how to ensure lasting peace in the Middle East. This is not necessarily just for the United States or the UN, but other countries should be involved in this issue. This occupation issue, the UN General Assembly convened many special sessions, numerous Security Council resolutions have not been implemented, but it requires the political will of all the parties concerned; Israelis and Arabs and major players like the USA and EU have been trying to promote peace, but in the last year we haven't seen progress, and recently we have seen a tragic crisis in Gaza.

This Monday I will attend an international conference in Egypt and discuss all these issues on the peace process and provide contributions for the reconstruction of Gaza. I believe a meaningful peace process must be brought back to track immediately. The Arab peace initiative has provided a cornerstone and there is a broad consensus on it. At the Quartet where I participate, the USA, Russia, EU and UN have been dealing with this matter. The Quartet also should be reactivated by the new US administration. There should be a process of unity and reconciliation among Palestinians and there should be unity and reconciliation among Arab nations. Unfortunately we see a division among Palestinians and among Arab states. Even when you are united as one it might be an extraordinarily difficult process, so when you are divided, it is even worse. I am going to urge for the unity of Palestinians, Arab countries and concerted efforts by all countries. My answer might not be sufficient at this time but we can debate hours and hours on this matter, maybe some other time.

Q: As a result of pollution several critical developments have been reported worldwide, such as melting ice, the rise of sea levels, unpredictable rainfalls etc. What are the measures that the UN has taken towards heavy polluters?

SG: I think I have explained at length on this very issue. If we don't take proper action, as was suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we may see a rise of sea levels by 6 feet to 2 metres, and this is alarming. We have seen the submerging of glaciers. In 50 years there will be many small island countries submerged under the water. Tomorrow I will fly over Mount Kilimanjaro and see for myself the melting of the ice cap of the mountain. I am told it is frightening to see the receding ice cap every year. One suggested that by 2030 we may not be able to see any snow on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. That is alarming. This has been caused all by pollution. The green house gas emissions by all these industries -- cars and human activity in our daily life styles -- have caused all this global warming. Therefore in additional to all governmental actions, I think each and every one in your family should change your lifestyle; be conscious and try to conserve the environment. This you can do in your house. This is not only about the government, NGO or the community; each one of us has a role to play. Thank you