SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH CHAIRMAN OF PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION
Press Release
SG/SM/5975
SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH CHAIRMAN OF PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION
19960502 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:During their working luncheon today, the Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, discussed current developments in the Middle East, including the forthcoming Israeli-Palestinian "final status" talks, and the situation in Lebanon following the cease-fire agreement.
Chairman Arafat called for an enhanced United Nations presence in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem and for a greater United Nations role in the peace process. He praise the work of the United Nations programmes and agencies in the area, in particular the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories. Referring to the serious deterioration of the Palestinian economy, he called on these programmes to do even more, and for the donors to expedite their financial contributions. The Secretary-General assured him that the United Nations would continue to assist the Palestinian people in every possible way.
The Secretary-General and Chairman Arafat agreed to remain in close contact regarding the peace process, and to reinforce United Nations- Palestinian relations.
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