SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO CANADA

Press Release
SG/T/2002/Rev.1*

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO CANADA

In Ottawa on Thursday morning, 23 November, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali met jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Andre O`uellet, and the Minister of National Defence and Veteran Affairs, David Michael Collenette. The meeting was followed by a round-table discussion chaired by the Foreign Minister and attended by the Defence Minister, the Deputy Defence Minister, Louise Frechette, Acting President of the Canadian International Development Agency, Gaetan Lavertu, and the Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, Robert Fowler, in addition to other senior officials in the foreign and defence ministries.

The discussion dealt with: the financial crisis at the United Nations; United Nations activities in the fields of social and economic development, especially in Africa; the situation in the former Yugoslavia following the signing of the peace accords in Dayton, Ohio; and various other peace-keeping operations, including those in Haiti and Rwanda.

At 11 a.m. the Secretary-General held talks with Prime Minister Jean Chretien. At a joint press conference after the talks, the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to the people and Government of Canada for their strong commitment to the United Nations system. Canada and the United Nations, he said, shared the same objectives -- peace, development, protection of human rights and democratization.

At 12:30 p.m. the Secretary-General was the guest of honour at a luncheon hosted by the Prime Minister and attended by the Deputy Prime Minister, Sheila Copps, Foreign Minister Quellet, Mr. Fowler and other officials.

The Secretary-General returned to New York on Thursday afternoon. He was accompanied on this visit to Canada by his Special Adviser, Assistant Secretary-General Rosario Green.

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* Revised to include additional information on the Secretary-General's final day in Canada.