SECRETARY CONTINUES VISIT TO FRANCE

Press Release
SG/T/2034

SECRETARY CONTINUES VISIT TO FRANCE

PARIS, 22 March -- In Paris on Thursday, 21 March, the Secretary-General met in the morning with President Jacques Chirac. The Secretary-General said the meeting was very useful and extremely positive. He and President Chirac discussed a number of topics, first and foremost the issue of United Nations reform and the financial crisis of the Organization. They also reviewed the negotiations between the United Nations and the Iraqi Government on the "oil for food" formula outlined by Security Council resolution 986 (1995), United Nations activities in the former Yugoslavia, a number of African problems and the question of Western Sahara.

In the late morning, the Secretary-General was received by the President of the Arab World Institute in Paris. He then attended a luncheon hosted by the Institute with all the Ambassadors from Arab countries stationed in Paris, as well as high-level French Government officials.

In the late afternoon, the Secretary-General met for over one hour with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Herve de Charette. They, too, discussed the financial situation of the United Nations and reform of the Organization, issues which will be discussed at the upcoming G-7 Summit to be held in Lyons in late June, to which the Secretary-General was invited. They also discussed the negotiations between Iraq and the United Nations on resolution 986 (1995). They reviewed the dispute between Yemen and Eritrea. In the wake of the Summit for Peacemakers held on 30 March in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, they exchanged views on the combat against international terrorism.

In the evening, the Secretary-General was the keynote speaker at a Conference at the French Institute of International Relations attended by a group of high-level academics, intellectuals and politicians. The theme of the conference was "The Role of the Secretary-General and the Future of the United Nations." The Secretary-General delivered a major address (SG/SM/5932) and answered a number of questions concerning the activities of the United Nations worldwide.

On Friday, 22 March, the Secretary-General met at 12:30 p.m. for one hour with Prime Minister Alain Juppe and Alain Lamassoure, the Minister of Budget and Spokesman of the French Government. They discussed a wide range of issues, after which the Secretary-General attended a luncheon hosted in his honour by the Prime Minister. The Secretary-General then departed Paris for Bordeaux.

- 2 - Press Release SG/T/2034 22 March 1996

In Bordeaux, the Secretary-General delivered an address at the University Montesquieu of Bordeaux and received an Honourary doctorate of law. In his speech, the Secretary-General spoke about the great challenges for the future facing the international community, expanding on his theory of the "democratic imperative" and the "international law of democracy", and the role of democratic values.

The Secretary-General will depart for Beijing from Paris on Saturday, 23 March, to embark on his tour of the Far East that will also take him to Tokyo and Seoul.

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