SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO BRAZIL, URUGUAY, ARGENTINA, 13-17 JULY
Press Release
SG/T/2145
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO BRAZIL, URUGUAY, ARGENTINA, 13-17 JULY
19980810 (Received from the Spokesman travelling with the Secretary-General.)On Monday, 13 July, the Secretary-General started a Latin American tour during which he visited five countries. In Brasilia, Brazil, the first leg of his tour, the Secretary-General was received at the Planalto Palace with full military honours and a 21-gun salute by the President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
The arrival ceremony was followed by a meeting during which the Secretary-General and President Cardoso discussed the situation in Kosovo, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor and Angola, as well as the nuclear issue in South Asia. Other items on their agenda included management of the global economy, fight against drugs, Security Council reform and Brazil's relations with the United Nations.
Following his meeting with the Secretary-General, President Cardoso signed instruments of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) with the Secretary-General witnessing that signature and accepting the instrument of ratification.
Later that morning, the Secretary-General gave a speech at Palacio Itamaraty, the seat of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, on "The Culture of Peace" (Press Release SG/SM/6637). Following his speech, the Secretary- General and Mrs. Annan attended a working luncheon hosted by President and Mrs. Cardoso. This was followed by a press conference during which he answered questions on the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, sanctions against Iraq and the Chiapas issue.
In the afternoon the Secretary-General visited the National Congress where he met with a group of Brazilian legislators. Later he met with the staff of United Nations organizations in Brazil. In the evening he departed Brasilia for Sao Paulo.
In the morning of 14 July, the Secretary-General delivered a lecture on "The Emerging Power of Civil Society" at the headquarters of Parlatino (the Latin American Parliament) in Sao Paulo (Press Release SG/SM/6638). At noon,
the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a luncheon hosted by the Acting Governor of Sao Paulo and Mrs. Mario Covas at the Bandeirantes Palace.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General left Sao Paulo for Montevideo, Uruguay, the second country he visited on his Latin American tour. Shortly after arrival in Montevideo, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a state dinner hosted by the President of Uruguay and Mrs. Julio Maria Sanguinetti at the headquarters of Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR).
On 15 July the Secretary-General started his official visit to Uruguay by laying a wreath at the monument to General Jose Gervasio Artigas, Uruguay's national hero. The Secretary-General then met with President Sanguinetti and with Foreign Minister Didier Opertti at the Libertad Palace.
During the meeting, they discussed Uruguay's contributions to the United Nations peacekeeping missions and pending United Nations reform, regional trade, Security Council reform and the Rome conference on the establishment of an International Criminal Court.
After his talks with the President of Uruguay, the Secretary-General attended a meeting with the Foreign Minister and other senior officials at Palacio Santos. This was followed by a press conference, during which he answered questions on the United Nations role in the peace process in the Middle East, United Nations reform and the possibility of including Latin American countries as permanent members of the Security Council. Other issues included Uruguay's human rights record and United States arrears to the United Nations.
Following the press conference, the Secretary-General attended a lunch hosted by Foreign Minister Opertti. In the afternoon, he met with the Mayor of Montevideo, who presented him with the symbolic keys to that city. The ceremony took place in the City Hall of Montevideo. The Secretary-General then visited the United Nations House, where he inaugurated a United Nations website and later met with the staff of United Nations organizations in Uruguay. The meeting was also attended by the President of Uruguay.
Later that day, the Secretary-General addressed a joint meeting of the Uruguayan Parliament on the subject "Small States and the United Nations" (Press Release SG/SM/6639). In the evening, the Secretary-General left Montevideo for Buenos Aires, Argentina. On 16 July the Secretary-General was received by the Argentina's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guido di Tella, at the Plaza San Martin, where he laid a wreath at the monument of Argentina's national hero, General Jose de San Martin. The Secretary-General then met with President Carlos Saul Menem at Casa Rosada. The issues discussed at the meeting included the situation around the Malvinas/Falkland islands, the Middle East, Kosovo, as well as the creation of the International Criminal Court.
- 3 - Press Release SG/T/2145 10 August 1998
After the meeting, the Secretary General and President Carlos Menem of Argentina signed "Proyecto Joven", an agreement aimed at increasing the job skills of young people in Argentina. Through this project around $254 million from the Inter-Development Bank (BID) will be handed over for use in training, job centres and counselling for the unemployed youth. Following the ceremony the United Nations delegation met with President Menem's Cabinet. The Secretary-General and his delegation then attended a luncheon at the Alvear Plaza Hotel hosted by President Menem.
On the same day, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan visited the Foreign Ministry of Argentina, where they viewed the model of the monument to Raoul Wallenberg to be erected in Buenos Aires later this year. The Secretary-General also met with a delegation of Casa Argentina en Israel Tierra Santa, an NGO devoted to the enhancement of interfaith dialogue. Later he met with 30 Argentine businessmen and entrepreneurs.
The Secretary-General then met with former Argentine ambassadors to the United Nations and later visited the Argentine Center for International Relations (CARI) where he made a speech on "The Need for Multilateralism" (Press Release SG/SM/6641).
On 17 July the Secretary-General met with the Mayor of Buenos Aires, Fernando de la Rua, at Buenos Aires City Hall. The Mayor presented him with an Honorary Citizenship Award. Then, the Secretary-General visited the Training Center for Peacekeeping Forces (CAECOPAZ) outside Buenos Aires, where he participated in a commemorative ceremony for the fortieth anniversary of Argentine peacekeeping forces.
After the ceremony, the Secretary-General was introduced to United Nations peacekeepers and representatives of the White Helmets organization, watched a military parade, laid a wreath and participated in a briefing session on Argentina's peacekeeping operations. Later, the Secretary-General attended a lunch hosted by Ambassador Carlos Muniz, President of CARI.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General left Buenos Aires for Rome, Italy, to attend a ceremony on the conclusion of the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court.
* *** *