SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN YAOUND+ FOR OAU SUMMIT, HOLDS MEETINGS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS, ADDRESSES UN STAFF
Press Release
SG/T/2073
SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN YAOUNDÉ FOR OAU SUMMIT, HOLDS MEETINGS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS, ADDRESSES UN STAFF
19960709 YAOUNDÉ, 9 July -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has been in Yaoundé, Cameroon, since Saturday, 6 July, to attend the thirty-second Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Secretary-General has also held a number of bilateral meetings with African leaders.On Sunday, 7 July, on the second day of his visit to Yaoundé, the Secretary-General met with President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique; President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia; President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo; President Pascal Lissouba of Congo; and President Liamine Zeroual of Algeria. He also met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Amre Moussa, and with the Secretary-General of the OAU, Salim Ahmed Salim. The discussions focused on the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, conflict resolution, and on other matters on the agenda of the Summit. The Secretary- General then met with the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, who was scheduled to address the Summit.
On Monday, 8 July, in the morning, the Secretary-General had a number of other bilateral meetings with African leaders. He met with the Prime Minister of Zaire, Leon Kengo Wa Dondo; the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi; the President of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire; the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki; and the President of Senegal, Abdouf Diouf. The discussions focused on the issues of conflict resolution and economic development in Africa. In the afternoon, the Secretary-General addressed the OAU Summit meeting. (For the text of the Secretary-General's statement, see Press Release SG/SM/6018, issued on 8 July.)
The Secretary-General also attended the Summit of Heads of State and Government of Central Africa, which began after the opening of the OAU Summit. This was the first summit meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, the membership of which consists of Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Chad, Zaire, Sao Tome and Principe, Rwanda, and Equatorial Guinea. The Secretary-General congratulated the Committee on the adoption of a Final Declaration, and he pledged the support of the United Nations for its implementation.
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Later, the Secretary-General attended a signing ceremony for a Non- Aggression Pact for Central Africa.
On Tuesday, 9 July, the Secretary-General continued to have bilateral meetings. He met again with the President of Togo, Mr. Eyadema. He also met with President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, President Joao Bernardo Vieira of Guinea-Bissau, and President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin. Their discussions dealt with the Special Initiative on Africa and with conflict resolution, with a special focus on Angola, Burundi, and Liberia. He also met with President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya of Mauritania, with whom he discussed the situation in Western Sahara. In addition, he held meetings with President Paul Biya of Cameroon, and with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Chief Tom Ikimi, respectively, to discuss efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Bakassi Peninsula question.
In the late afternoon, the Secretary-General, after attending the closing of the OAU Summit, addressed United Nations staff stationed in Cameroon.
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