SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MEETINGS WITH HEADS OF STATE ON 21 OCTOBER

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali met with the following heads of State or Government on Saturday, 21 October;

9:30 a.m. President of Uganda, Youeri Kaguta Museveni;

10:45 a.m. President of Sierra Leona, Valentine E.M. Strasser

11 a.m. President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga

11:30 a.m. President of Gabon, El Hadj Omar Bongo

11:45 a.m. President of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoon

12:05 p.m. President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliev

3:05 p.m. President of Moldova, Mircea Snegur

4 p.m. President of Turkemenistan, Saparamurad Miyazov

5 p.m. President of China, Jiang Zenin

6 p.m. President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin

6:30 p.m. Vice-President of Yemen, Abdorabov Mansour Hadi

7 p.m. Prime Minister of Japan, Tomiichi Murayama

7:30 p.m. Prime Minister of India, Narasimha Rao

In his meeting with the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the situation in Rwanda and in particular the question of refugees as well as the current efforts to facilitate their return in Rwanda were discussed. They also discussed the modalities for the holding of a regional conference on security, stability, peace and development of the Great Lakes region.

The President of Uganda stated that the efforts of the international community should also address other destabilizing factors in the region. In that regard, the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development initiative towards finding a solution to the civil war in the Sudan had so far failed to produce tangible results. he added that his government would continue to keep close contact with the United Nations on the matter.

In the Secretary-General's meeting with the President of Sierra Leone, the President expressed his country's gratitude for the United Nations assistance in promoting the democratic process in Sierra Leone. he briefed the Secretary-General about his Government's efforts to ensure that the forthcoming elections were held in February 1996, as scheduled, in a free and democratic atmosphere. The President also thanked the United Nations for the Humanitarian Appeal launched last March and expressed his concerns that the resources required to carry out humanitarian activities in Sierra Leone were not forthcoming.

The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the Government of Sierra Leone in facilitating the recent mission of the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Peter Hansen. The Secretary-General exchanged views with the President of the current efforts of SGSE, Mr. Dinka, to convince the Revolutionary United Front to abandon violence. He added that the United Nations stood ready to assist member States in their democratization efforts.

In his meeting with the President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the President informed the Secretary-General about the internal situation in Sri Lanka and the government's efforts to persuade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) to come to the negotiating table. The Secretary-General expressed his hope that it would indeed be possible to find a negotiated settlement to that problem. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to the Sri Lankan President for her presence in New York to participate in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.

In his meeting with the President of Gabon, El Hadj Omar Bongo, the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the constructive role played by Gaon in settling conflicts in its region and in particular its role in facilitating and hosting the first meeting between President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Dr. Jonas Savimbi. The situations in Rwanda and Burundi were also discussed, with particular emphasis on the situation of the Rwandese refugees in the camps of Zaire.

In the Secretary-General's meeting with the President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President briefed the Secretary-General of the problems of the Maldivse as a small island state and the Secretary-General described to him the efforts of the United Nations in that regard. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to President Abdul Gayoom for his presence in New York to participate in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.

When he met with the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliev, the Secretary-General said the United Nations was following with great attention the work of the Minks Group of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concerning the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He referred to his meeting of the previous day with President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland and his support for President Ahtissari's efforts in that connection. They also discussed the forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan, for which the United Nations was providing electoral assistance. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to the President of Azerbaijan for his presence in New York to participate in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister of Polan, Jozef Olesky reform of the Security Council and current developments in the former Yugoslavia were discussed. The Secretary-General referred to the financial crisis of the United Nations and expressed his gratitude to Poland for its contribution to United Nations peace-keeping operations. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to the Prime Minister of Poland for his presence in New York to participate in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.

In his meeting with the President of Moldova, Mircea Snegur, the Secretary-General thanked the President for his presence and the support that this demonstrated for the United Nations.

The President briefed the Secretary-General on the current political and economic situation in Moldova. The Secretary-General expressed his support for the President's efforts to resolve the remaining political issues and assured him that the United Nations was ready to respond positively to any request for assistance. They reviewed progress in economic liberalization and the privatization of land, and the President's efforts to introduce a market economy. The President expressed his gratitude for the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which currently had 17 projects in Moldova. The President presented the Secretary-General with a collection of articles on the United Nations in the Moldova press and a publication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary.

In his meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Saparamurad Niyazov, the Secretary-General welcomed the President to the United Nations and thanked him for being in New York to participate in the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly.

The President underlined how much importance he attached to the General Assembly item on the neutrality of Turkmenistan. They reviewed United Nations peacemaking efforts in relation to Tajikistan, with special reference to Turkmenistan's offer to host the next round of inter-Tajik talks, for which the Secretary-General expressed the Organization's gratitude. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and reviewed their efforts to help restore peace there. The President briefed the Secretary-General on plans to develop and export Turkmenistan's energy resources.

When he met with the President of China, Jiang Zemin, the Secretary-General thanked the Chinese Government and people for hosting the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing last month, which they agreed was a great success.

They reviewed the financial crisis of the United Nations and President Jian reaffirmed China's commitment to pay its assessed contributions in full and on time. He also underlined the need for the international community to pay more attention to developing countries, with which the Secretary-General fully agreed. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to President Jian for his presence in New York to attend the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, which reflected China's support for the Organization.

In his meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, the Secretary-General thanked the President for his presence in New York to participate in the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly, and for the support of the Russian Federation for the Organization.

They discussed the situation in the former Yugoslavia, with special reference to the efforts of the Contact Group to bring about peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Secretary-General underlined that the United Nations must participate in decisions for which it would be held responsible. They also discussed the situation regarding Iraq and the Secretary-General briefed President Yeltsin on his efforts to persuade the Iraqi Government to accept Security Council resolution 986 (1995).

The Secretary-General reviewed the United Nations' efforts to bring about peace to Tajikistan, Georgia and Afghanistan. The Secretary-General raised the subject of the chemical weapons Convention and urged that Russia should ratify it as soon as possible. President Yeltsin said that that was his intention.

During the Secretary-General's meeting with Vice-President of the Republic of Yemen, Abdorabou Mansour Hadi, the Vice-President apprised the Secretary-General of the Government's efforts to implement the commitments undertaken following the civil war. In that regard he expressed the gratitude of the Government and people of Yemen for the constructive role played by the United Nations and its Secretary-General in protecting the unity of Yemen.

The Vice-President underlined his Government's concerns over the flow of refugees from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, who were placing a heavy burden on the economy of Yemen. He appealed to the United Nations for assistance. The Secretary-General assured the Vice-President that the United Nations demining team in Yemen would continue with its task. He briefed the Vice-President on the current situation in Somalia and on his efforts to persuade the Government of Iraq to accept Security Council resolution 986 (1995).

When he met with the Prime Minister of Japan, Tomiichi Murayama, the Secretary-General thanked the Prime Minister for his presence in New York to attend the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly.

The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to Japan for its support for the Organization and its contribution to peace-keeping operations. Japan has just made a payment of $200 million, bringing up-to-date its obligations to the peace-keeping budget. They reviewed the financial crisis of the United Nations and the question of reform of the Organization which, the Secretary-General pointed out, should include the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council, as well as the Security Council and the Secretariat.

When the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of India, Narasimha Rao, the financial crisis of the United Nations and the question of reform of the Organization were discussed. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to India for its great contribution to peace-keeping operations and its support for the United Nations activities worldwide. The Secretary-General also thanked the Prime Minister for his presence in New York to attend the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly.