ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN CAMEROON AND FRANCE, 1 - 4 MAY
The Secretary-General arrived in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in the evening of Monday, 1 May.
He began his official programme in Yaoundé on Tuesday by meeting with the Foreign Minister of Cameroon, Augustin Kontchou Kouemegni. He then met the country's Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Mussongue.
In both meetings, the Secretary-General emphasized the themes of good governance, human rights and transparency. The Ministers briefed him on the Government's efforts to meet United Nations standards, particularly in the area of human rights.
The Secretary-General then went to the Presidential Palace, where he met privately for more than an hour with President Paul Biya.
After lunch, the Secretary-General met with the heads of United Nations agencies working in Cameroon, as well as with United Nations staff.
He then went to the University of Yaoundé II, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in international relations. In his acceptance speech, he called on Africans to exploit the new information technology in order to make African economies more globally competitive. "The main input, he said, "is brain power, the one commodity that is equally distributed throughout the human race." He urged governments to invest in girls' education, to get AIDS infection growth under control and to work together to resolve conflicts so that economic growth could resume. "If conflict perpetuates poverty, poverty also makes conflict harder to avoid and to resolve, he said. "That is the vicious circle we Africans have to break." (See Press Release SG/SM/7376.) He departed from his text to challenge African leaders to join in the fight against AIDS. "Silence is death", he said.
That evening, the Secretary-General was guest of honour at a dinner hosted by President Biya.
On Wednesday, 3 May, Mr. Annan met about a dozen opposition members of the National Assembly, including representatives of the English-speaking minority in Cameroon. They shared with him their grievances, and a few submitted documents.
The Secretary-General gave a press conference before leaving the country, concluding his five-nation West African tour.
He then travelled to Paris, where he dined on Wednesday evening with French President Jacques Chirac. They discussed the Secretary-General's recent visits to five African nations, and spoke in detail about the situation in Sierra Leone and the proposed peacekeeping force for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition, they talked about Israel's planned withdrawal from Lebanon. The two men later met with the press.
The Secretary-General returned to New York on Thursday morning.