Thank you, Mr. President. It is a great pleasure to visit Uganda again. Thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality, which all our delegation members are enjoying, even though it is a brief one.

Let me briefly explain to you what we have discussed and what the United Nations is going to do regarding some very critical security and development issues happening in this region.

I am also very happy to be joined by Dr. [Jim] Kim, the President of the World Bank and also you see Mrs. Mary Robinson, my Special Envoy for DRC and the Great Lakes region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have just had a very productive meeting this morning with President Museveni and members of his Cabinet.

As Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region, President Museveni has been instrumental in striving to resolve the crisis in the Eastern DRC - and in reaching agreement on the landmark Framework.

That is why we are here.

Now the focus is on implementation of this Framework Agreement.  We count on the continued leadership of President Museveni and all regional leaders.  I welcome President Museveni’s strong commitments and leadership shown here today.

Before I move more into detail on DRC issues, I should take this opportunity to express on behalf of the United Nations and the whole international community our deepest thanks and admiration for such a valuable contribution of Ugandan Government soldiers for the peace and stability in Somalia. 

[inaudible] such a noble sacrifice of so many Ugandan soldiers, people in Somalia are now able to enjoy the stability, the political stability, and opportunity, chances for development.  I count on your continuing support and contribution on this matter.

Now let me briefly explain to you about what we have been doing during the last several days. I am coming from Mozambique, DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda, and I am heading to Ethiopia this afternoon.

This visit together with Dr. Kim of the World Bank is quite unprecedented and solely focused on how we can bring peace and stability, together with development to the people of DRC and also to this region.

As you know there was a very important landmark agreement, Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation in DRC and in the region.

We call it a Framework for Hope as Mary Robinson rightly termed it

This landmark agreement commits regional actors to act on their commitments.

And it emphasizes the need to address the underlying causes of instability.

It is essential that we invest in the people who have suffered too much for too long.

Dr. Kim and I met some of these people yesterday in Goma at the Heal Africa Hospital - women and girls who had been brutally raped by armed groups.

They, and the people lining the streets of Goma, had a clear message - they are tired of war, tired of abuse, tired of impunity, tired of poverty.

I have been travelling in many conflict zones, but our experience, my experience yesterday, where thousands of people – men and women, boys and girls – all came out with small paper placards [that said] “No war. Peace”. We were very much humbled. What the United Nations [can do] and how we can work to bring peace to those people. This was a genuine aspiration for so many people, lining in the streets on our way.

We want to give them hope.  And we think we can.

The Security Council has authorized an Intervention Brigade to be deployed within the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO.

This force of 3,000 troops has a robust mandate to enforce peace and protect civilians.  It will be fully operational in a matter of weeks.

But that is only one element of a broader political process.  

A peace deal must deliver a peace dividend -- health, education, jobs, and opportunity.

Dr. Kim and I both know that the people of the region are impatient for tangible progress.

That is why we are acting in close partnership.

The World Bank’s new investment will be a major boost to the work both our organizations are doing to support sustainable economic growth.

Economic growth can help prepare the ground for peace and stability.

And peace provides a foundation for prosperity. 

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Earlier this week, as I said, I was in Mozambique to meet with President Guebuza.

As Chair of the Southern African Development Community, President Guebuza is a witness and guarantor to the Framework of Hope, along with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, chaired by President Museveni. The African Union and the United Nations Secretary-General will be acting as guarantors.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

All across Africa, countries are on the rise, reaching towards their potential.

The challenges are many, but the trajectory is clear.

There is no reason that the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region cannot follow suit.

Tomorrow I will carry this message to the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Organisation of African Unity and the African Union.

Dr. Kim and I both believe in Africa.

We both believe in hope, and we are determined to help provide it.

Thank you very much.