SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO POLAND
Press Release
SG/T/1997
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO POLAND
19951113 The following was issued today by the Spokeswoman travelling with Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:Continuing his activities while in Poland, the Secretary-General, on Thursday, 9 November, at 4.30 p.m., went to Pilsudski Square where he laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
At 5 p.m. the Secretary-General arrived at the Presidential Palace where he had a 45 minute meeting with the President of Poland, Lech Walesa. The President and the Secretary-General reviewed the excellent relations of Poland and the United Nations for the last 50 years.
The President of Poland stressed the importance of the United Nations as the only universal organization capable of solving global problems. He stated that Poland would continue to be an active member of the United Nations for the next 50 years and was looking forward to making an even greater contribution to the Organization. Concerning the maintenance of peace, the President stressed the importance of preventive diplomacy and also the urgency to explore further the possibility of establishing a European peace-keeping force and an emergency stand-by force.
The Secretary-General congratulated the President for the election by the General Assembly of Poland as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and expressed his gratitude to Poland for its outstanding contribution to the United Nations, including in the field of peace-keeping. The Secretary-General stated that Poland, because of its traditions in foreign affairs and its history, was in an ideal position to offer new ideas to the international community for the promotion of peace, development and democratization and to obtain the involvement of the family of nations in United Nations programmes in this regard.
The President and the Secretary-General had a tour d'horizon of world affairs, especially regarding former Yugoslavia and the Middle East.
Following their meeting, at 5.45 p.m., President Walesa and the Secretary-General met briefly with the press.
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At 8 p.m. the Secretary-General and Mrs. Boutros-Ghali attended a dinner hosted in their honour by the President and Mrs. Danuta Walesa.
On Friday, 10 November, the second day of his official visit to Poland, the Secretary-General paid a visit to the Parliament of Poland where he addressed a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The meeting was co-chaired by Professor Bronislaw Geremek, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and Henryk Makarewicz, the Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Senate Chamber. In his statement the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for Poland's strong support to the United Nations, noting that Poland had made important contributions to peace, development, human rights, democracy and international law -- the cornerstones of international relations. The Secretary-General also discussed the lessons to be drawn from the four last years in terms of United Nations peace-keeping operations.
At 11 a.m. the Secretary-General arrived at Warsaw University where he was welcomed by the Rector of the University, Professor Wioozimierz Sliwinski. The Secretary-General delivered a lecture on "a new United Nations objective: democratization". After a period of questions and answers which followed the Secretary-General's lecture, the Rector of the University presented the commemorative medal of Warsaw University to the Secretary-General.
At 12.30 p.m. the Secretary-General attended a working lunch offered at the Mysliwiecki Palace by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Poland, Jozef Oleksy.
The Prime Minister and the Secretary-General discussed the relationship between Poland and the United Nations and how to reinforce the United Nations. They reviewed the role of the United Nations for peaceful settlement of conflicts on a global scale. The Prime Minister of Poland congratulated the Secretary-General on the way the Secretary-General was discharging his duties in a difficult period of transition. He presented him with a just published Polish version of the Agenda for Peace. The Prime Minister also expressed his appreciation for the recent opening of the United Nations Information Office in Warsaw.
The Secretary-General stated that Poland, which had just been elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council will be, in the next two years, in an ideal position to take an active role in the solution of conflicts and also in the construction of the new rules of the post-cold war era. He also stated that the United Nations, with Poland's support, will continue to elaborate solutions to the challenges of the future in such fields as the environment, drug trafficking and international law. The Secretary-General recalled that peace could only be lastingly built upon the foundation of sustainable development.
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At 2.30 p.m, following a working lunch, the Prime Minister and the Secretary-General addressed the press.
At 4 p.m. the Secretary-General met with Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski; after the talks they met with the press.
At 6 p.m. the Secretary-General visited the United Nations Centre in Warsaw where he met with the members of the National Committee of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations and staff members of the United Nations system in Poland.
At 8 p.m. the Secretary-General attended an official dinner offered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On Saturday, 11 November, the Secretary-General travelled to Katowice, and from there on to the former Auschwitz concentration camp where he laid a wreath under the "wall of death". At noon the Secretary-General travelled to Cracow.
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