SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS UNITED KINGDOM, 2 TO 4 APRIL

Press Release
SG/T/2129

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS UNITED KINGDOM, 2 TO 4 APRIL

The Secretary-General arrived in London from Beijing in the afternoon of Thursday, 2 April.

At 5:30 p.m. he met with for 40 minutes with Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. They discussed the memorandum of understanding on weapons inspections in Iraq. They talked in detail about the situation in the Middle East, in light of the Prime Minister's plan to travel to the region soon. They also touched on Libya, and the United Nations financial situation. Following this meeting, the Secretary-General met with the press.

The Secretary-General then met with his Special Envoy for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, in preparation for a breakfast meeting on Friday, 3 April, between the Secretary-General and the Vice-President of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie. At this 7:30 a.m. meeting, they discussed the Asian financial crisis and the ongoing search for a negotiated solution in East Timor.

The Secretary-General then went to Whitehall for a meeting with Robin Cook, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. They discussed the status of talks on East Timor, the long-term prospects for the weapons inspection regime in Iraq and the Middle East peace process. They also discussed the objectives of an upcoming European Conference on humanitarian assistance to Iraq, the situation in Kosovo and the Cyprus talks. The Secretary-General and Mr. Cook then met briefly with the press.

The Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan then toured the United Nations Landmines exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. Malcolm Harper, Director of the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom, presented the Secretary- General with a cheque for 10,000 pounds for United Nations landmine activities. The money had been collected from the membership and the general public.

From Whitehall, the Secretary-General went to the Executive Offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), where he had an off-the-record lunch with senior officials of the Corporation, hosted by Christopher Bland, BBC Chairman.

In the afternoon, he met with Sir David Hannay, Special Representative of the British Government for Cyprus, to discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a

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settlement in Cyprus. He then met with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres. They discussed the Asian Economic Summit (ASEM2) which took place in London from 3 to 4 April, and they also talked about East Timor.

The Secretary-General met on Saturday, 4 April, with the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, who was in London for the Asian-European Meeting. China's new Foreign Minister, Tang Jiaxuan, was also present. They discussed the Asian financial crisis and the current London meeting called to deal with it. The Secretary-General thanked the Prime Minister for China's decision not to devalue its currency, thereby contributing to regional economic stability.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Secretary-General on his successful mission to Iraq. The Secretary-General then congratulated the Foreign Minister on his appointment and said he looked forward to working with him.

With this meeting, the Secretary-General ended a three-week visit which included Geneva (twice), the Middle East, the Russian Federation, China and the United Kingdom.

He departed London that afternoon and took a brief vacation before returning to work at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, 13 April.

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