In progress at UNHQ

SG/SM/6611

SECRETARY-GENERAL SENDS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL ALVARO DE SOTO TO DELIVER PERSONAL MESSAGE TO SOUTH ASIAN LEADERS

24 June 1998


Press Release
SG/SM/6611


SECRETARY-GENERAL SENDS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL ALVARO DE SOTO TO DELIVER PERSONAL MESSAGE TO SOUTH ASIAN LEADERS

19980624 Following is the text of a statement attributable to the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued today:

Following the explosion of nuclear devices by India and Pakistan last month, the Secretary-General has been in contact with leaders of the region in an effort to help reduce tension. In pursuance of these efforts he has decided to dispatch the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto, on a visit to countries in the region to deliver personal messages to their leaders and to prepare for his own eventual visit there.

Mr. de Soto will leave New York today and his first stop will be Dhaka, where he will be received by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.

Mr. de Soto is accompanied by Rolf Knutsson, Director in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, and by Horst Heitmann, Senior Political Officer in the Department of Political Affairs.

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For information media. Not an official record.