SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO COTE D'IVOIRE

Press Release
SG/T/2010

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES VISIT TO COTE D'IVOIRE

On Tuesday, 5 December, the second day of his visit to Yamoussoukro, capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali participated in the ceremony awarding the Houphouët-Boigny Prize for Peace Research. The prize was created in 1989 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in honour of the late President of Côte d'Ivoire, Felix Houphouët-Boigny. The prize was awarded today to King Juan Carlos I of Spain and to former President Jimmy Carter of the United States.

At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with the representatives of United Nations programmes and agencies based in Côte d'Ivoire. At 10 a.m., he paid a visit to the tomb of the late President Houphouët-Boigny, accompanied by the President of Côte d'Ivoire, Henri Konan Bedie, and by other heads of State present in Yamoussoukro.

At 11:30 a.m., the Secretary-General arrived at the Felix Houphouët- Boigny UNESCO Foundation for the Research of Peace, where the award ceremony took place.

At noon, the Secretary-General addressed a ceremony paying tribute to the late Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and to the late President Houphouët-Boigny. (The Secretary-General's statement has been issued in SG/SM/5836 of 4 December.) Statements were also made by the Director-General UNESCO, Frederico Mayor, President Bedie, the President of Senegal, Abdou Diouf, and the Israeli Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Shulamit Aloni.

At 1 p.m., the award ceremony was opened with speeches by the Director- General of UNESCO, the President of Côte d'Ivoire, the President of Senegal, the President of Portugal, Mario Soares, and the Secretary-General. (The text of the Secretary-General's speech has been issued in SG/SM/5832 of 4 December.) The UNESCO Director-General then awarded the prize to the King of Spain and to former President Jimmy Carter, who was represented by his son, James Earl Carter III. At the end of the ceremony, the Secretary-General attended a luncheon hosted by President Bedie.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General left Yamoussoukro for Geneva, where on 7 December he plans to meet with his senior aides on the question of the former Yugoslavia.

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