SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER, PARLIAMENTARIANS

Press Release
SG/T/2067

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER, PARLIAMENTARIANS

BONN, 21 June -- On the third day of his official visit to Germany, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali this morning met with the Federal Minister of Defence, Volker Ruehe, for 45 minutes. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for the important contribution made by Germany to United Nations peace-keeping operations. The two interlocutors reviewed the various types of peace operations undertaken by the international community. They also discussed the situation in the former Yugoslavia and in Africa, particularly in Angola and Burundi.

Also this morning, the Secretary-General met with a number of German parliamentarians. At 8:30 a.m., he met for 30 minutes with a delegation of Bundestag parliamentarians belonging to Alliance 90/The Greens, led by Joseph Fischer and Kerstin Muller. The head of the parliamentary group stressed that his party considered the United Nations as the major forum to deal with international affairs. The Secretary-General recalled the importance he attached to the role played by parliamentarians on the international scene, and said that he was preparing a third agenda, an agenda for democratization within Member States and at the international level.

At 11 a.m., the Secretary-General proceeded to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation where he was welcomed by the Deputy Chairman of the Social Democratic Party Group, Gunther Verheugen. The Secretary-General was to address the Group members of the Bundestag on the subject of "the alleviation of poverty - a global strategy". In his introduction, Mr. Verheugen recalled that the United Nations could only solve international problems if it had the support of its Member States including in financial terms. He also paid a tribute to the current reform process of the United Nations.

At 5 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the Chairman of the Board of Development Policy of the Association of German Non-Governmental Organizations, Peter Molt. They discussed the role of non-governmental organizations in the follow-up to major United Nations conferences and possible involvement in the special session of the General Assembly to be held in 1997 to review the implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The Secretary-General emphasized the importance of non-governmental

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organizations from the North helping those in the South. He welcomed the interest of German non-governmental organizations to cooperate with the United Nations and expressed the hope that they would play an even more active role in the development activities of the world Organization.

At 6 p.m., the Secretary-General met with the President of the International Narcotics Control Board, Oskar Schroeder. Mr. Schroeder asked the Secretary-General to assist in obtaining additional ratifications for the international drug control conventions. On drug control policy, he stressed the special need for prevention. The Secretary-General stated that he shared Mr. Schroeder's concerns and would support the efforts of the International Narcotics Control Board.

The Secretary-General leaves Bonn for Geneva tomorrow, 22 June.

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