[Unofficial transcript]

Thank you very much Mister Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media,

Assalamou Alaykoum

I am pleased once again to be here in historic Egypt.
I regret, however, that the circumstances are so painful.
I was honoured to meet this morning with H.E. President Mubarak. I have just concluded an urgent meeting with Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit and I am going to continue our discussions with the Foreign Minister over lunch right after this meeting. I am also going to meet with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Amre Moussa. We shared our feelings of frustration and pain over the ongoing violence in Gaza. We also discussed in depth how to attain an immediate ceasefire and to further secure humanitarian relief.

Again, this morning, after my meeting with the President, the First Lady briefed me on the efforts by the Egyptian Government and the Red Crescent Society on humanitarian efforts, and I was very touched and grateful for her personal initiative and intervention on these issues.

Over the course of the next few days I will also be visiting Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria, before I attend the Arab economic summit meeting in Kuwait.

At each stop, I will repeat my call for an immediate and durable ceasefire and insist that Security Council Resolution 1860 be fully respected by all the Parties.

Second, I will demand that urgent humanitarian assistance be provided, without restriction, to those in need. The United Nations' mandate is to help those who are suffering.

Third, I will encourage diplomatic efforts underway among concerned parties, and in that regard I highly recommend the initiative of President Mubarak and the Egyptian government officials.

My goal is an immediate end to the violence in Gaza – an end to Israel's military offensive and a halt to the rocket attacks by Hamas. It is intolerable that civilians bear the brunt of this conflict.

Negotiations need to be intensified to provide arrangements and guarantees in order to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm. Egyptian efforts in this regard are crucial, and I highly appreciate the personal involvement of President Mubarak.

President Mubarak briefed me about the status of his initiative and I sincerely hope that his initiative will bear good fruits as soon as possible. The United Nations stands ready to support and assist this process, as well as the humanitarian and reconstruction efforts to follow. I ask that all those who have influence with any party to this conflict use all means to end the violence and to find a durable solution.

I thank you very much.