SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH VICE-CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY, ADDRESSES SYMPOSIUM ON CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
Press Release
SG/T/2077
SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH VICE-CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY, ADDRESSES SYMPOSIUM ON CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
19961017 LUBECK, Germany, 17 October -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali met Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel of Germany in Lübeck this afternoon. They discussed a number of topics including the situations in Burundi, Rwanda and the Kivu region of Zaire. They also reviewed developments in Afghanistan. The Secretary-General paid tribute to the excellent work being done by his Special Representative for Afghanistan, Norbert Holl, and said it must continue.The Secretary-General later delivered the keynote address at the eleventh Malente Symposium organized by the Draeger-Stiftung, a foundation in Lübeck. The theme of the symposium is: "Economies in Transition and Globalized Markets: The Challenge to International Economic Organizations". The Secretary-General arrived at the Lübeck Congress Hall and met former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. He was welcomed at the Hall by the Premier of Schleswig-Holstein, Ms. Heide Simonis, and Dr. Christian Draeger, Board Member of the Draeger Foundation.
In an address of welcome to the Symposium, Mr. Kinkel said that in the present globalized economy no country could remain isolated and that countries should pool their resources. On the importance of the United Nations in this respect, he said the Secretary-General with his Agendas for Peace and Development had given a programme to the international community which focused on human beings, their rights and their dignity.
The Secretary-General then delivered his address and a brief question- and-answer period followed, which touched upon the importance of the civil society for the United Nations, and United Nations reform. The Vice- Chancellor and Foreign Minister concluded the debate by asserting that there was no better solution to cope with world challenges than the United Nations.
The address by the Secretary-General dealt with the integration of economies in transition into the world economy (see Press Release SG/SM/6084).
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The Symposium is also being addressed by representatives from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European Parliament, the Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan, the Finance Minister of Hungary, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Geneva, the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the National Bank of Poland, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and others.
The Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister was to host a dinner for participants in the Symposium, in honour of the Secretary-General.
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