SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS UNITED KINGDOM, FRANCE, 25-28 FEBRUARY

Press Release
SG/T/2088

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS UNITED KINGDOM, FRANCE, 25-28 FEBRUARY

PARIS, 28 February -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan flew to London on Tuesday, 25 February, to begin his week-long trip to the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.

On Wednesday, he and Mrs. Annan met with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Following that meeting, during a working lunch hosted by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Nicholas Bonsor, the Secretary-General discussed the issues of peace-keeping and United Nations reform with members of Parliament. Later, the Secretary-General attended the unveiling of a monument to Raoul Wallenberg by the Queen of England and in the presence of the President of Israel, a group of survivors of the Holocaust whose lives had been saved by Mr. Wallenberg and other dignitaries. (For text of his statement, see SG/SM/6169 issued 26 February).

Later in the day, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister John Major and with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Malcolm Rifkind.

On Thursday, 27 February, the Secretary-General met with the President of the State of Israel, Ezer Weizman. They discussed the question of the Middle East, United Nations reform and relations between the United Nations and the State of Israel. He later met with the Leader of the Opposition in the British Parliament, Anthony Blair, when they discussed United Nations reform and the situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

He flew to Paris on Thursday afternoon, where he met with the President of the National Assembly, Philippe Seguin. They had a detailed discussion on United Nations reform. Later, he met with the French Prime Minister, Alain Juppé. The Secretary-General then met with members of the press when he answered questions on a number of different issues -- United Nations reform, the Great Lakes region and Iraq.

Over breakfast on Friday, 28 February, the Secretary-General and the Minister for Defence, Charles Millon, primarily discussed peace-keeping issues. The Secretary-General then met with the Secretary of State for Humanitarian Activities, Xavier Emmanuelli, on Zaire. He also met with Xavier de Villepin, President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs and Defence of the French Senate.

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At noon, the Secretary-General met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hervé de Charette. The discussed, among others, the situation in Zaire, Iraq and "oil for food", Sudan, Western Sahara and the former Yugoslavia. Mr. de Charette then hosted a lunch which was also attended by 100 guests, including numerous French former "blue berets".

In the afternoon, he met with the President of Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly, Valery Giscard d'Estaing. They discussed reform in general and, in particular, in the Security Council. They also discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Later, he met with the Minister of the Environment, Madame Lepage. They discussed education on environment issues.

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