SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES IN EGYPT

12 March 1996

Press Release
SG/T/2031

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES IN EGYPT

19960312 SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, 12 March -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali arrived in Cairo at 12:30 p.m. today. He was received at the airport by the Chief of Protocol at the Foreign Ministry, the Ambassador and representatives of the United Nations system in Egypt, as well as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping, Koffi Annan, who is in Cairo to participate in a seminar on peace-keeping.

In an arrival statement to the media, the Secretary-General said that the importance of the Summit Conference of Peace-keepers was two-fold: to enhance the peace process in the Middle East; and to combat terrorism. He said the convening of such a summit conference in Egypt was an indication of Egypt's concern with international affairs, and particularly with the problem of regional and international terrorism, and its pivotal role in the Middle East peace process. Recalling the Declaration adopted by the General Assembly in its forty-ninth session on measures to eliminate international terrorism, the Secretary-General affirmed that the United Nations, if called upon, stood ready to implement any decision taken by the Summit.

At 2:30 p.m., the Secretary-General arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on board an aircraft provided by the Egyptian Government.

At 5:40 p.m., Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa called on the Secretary-General and accompanied him to the Presidential suite, where he was received by President Hosni Mubarak. Following the meeting, which lasted 40 minutes, the Secretary-General told the press that he discussed with the President the great importance the United Nations attaches to the Peace- keepers Summit. He also stressed the significance of the General Assembly Declaration as a first step by the international community to defeat terrorism. They had also discussed the recent mission by Special Envoy Chinmaya Gharekan to Sudan and other countries in the region, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1044 (1996), concerning the attempted assassination of the Egyptian President last June in Addis Ababa.

The two men reviewed the situation in Iraq, in view of the resumption in New York yesterday of the talks between the United Nations and the Iraqi Government on the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995).

Tomorrow the Secretary-General will participate in the Summit, which will be attended by nine heads of State, nine heads of government and one Crown Prince, 11 deputy-prime ministers, as well as special envoys and ministers of foreign affairs. * *** *