ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN CAMEROON, 15-18 JANUARY
The Secretary-General, accompanied by Mrs. Annan, departed New York on Monday evening, 15 January. After a rest stop in France, they arrived in Cameroon in the afternoon of Wednesday, 17 January, having travelled from Paris with President Jacques Chirac of France, on the President's official plane.
On Thursday morning, the Secretary-General called on the African leaders gathered at the twenty-first Conference of Heads of States of France and Africa to rise to the challenges of globalization by convincing the more industrialized nations of the importance of Africa. The theme of the Conference was "Africa and Globalization", and was the second Africa-France conference attended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Before going into the substance of his speech, the Secretary-General touched upon the uncertainty regarding the fate of President Laurent-Desire Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "I want to express my sympathies", he said, "to the people of the DRC in these uncertain times". Later that day, in a separate statement issued following the official announcement of the death of President Kabila, he appealed to all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the DRC. He expressed his earnest hope that the peace process in the DRC would not be "derailed" by the death of President Kabila (see SG/SM/7684).
On globalization, he called on the African leaders to rise to the challenges of globalization by convincing the more industrialized nations of the importance of Africa. He said that it was not sufficient to appeal to the generosity, or even the sense of justice, of the rich nations. "We must appeal to their enlightened self-interest", he told the assembled delegates. "We must convince them that Africa matters, and that this is a time to increase, not diminish, their positive engagement with us."
Africans are showing "a new will to look their problems squarely in the face", he said, citing as examples the recent peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the free and fair elections in Ghana, and African leaders' willingness to break the wall of silence on HIV/AIDS.
In concluding, the Secretary-General told his fellow Africans that there is no need to hide one's shortcomings, but that Africa is a continent that is facing up to its problems and helping itself to beat them. "We have to convince our partners in the industrialized world that we are people worth helping, because we are helping ourselves", he concluded (see SG/SM/7683).
After a private lunch, the Secretary-General held a number of bilateral meetings, including with Habib Ben Yahia, the Foreign Minister of Tunisia; Jacob Zuma, the Deputy President of South Africa; Pierre Buyoya, President of Burundi; and Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He also met with President GnassingbJof Togo and with Salim A. Salim, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
On the sidelines of the Summit, Mrs. Annan addressed a Summit of the spouses of the gathered African leaders on the subject of HIV/AIDS. In her remarks she underscored the importance of women in breaking the silence and social stigma that still surrounds HIV/AIDS in many places in Africa. The first ladies pledged to press their husbands into stepping up the fight against the disease.
Before departing on an overnight flight to Paris, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a banquet hosted by Cameroon's President Paul Biya and Madame Chantal Biya.
From Paris, the Secretary-General would depart to China to begin an official visit there on 20 January.