ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN CANADA, 17-18 NOVEMBER

On Saturday afternoon, 17 November, Secretary-General Kofi Annan left New York for an overnight trip to Ottawa, Canada, to talk to the members of the Finance and Development Committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund during a private dinner.

Prior to the dinner, the Secretary-General met with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Foreign Minister John Manley for over 30 minutes at the Canadian Foreign Ministry.

In a press encounter afterwards, the Secretary-General said they had discussed United Nations responsibilities in Afghanistan, both political and humanitarian, as well as the global fight against terrorism.

When asked about the cost of the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General said that, even though no dollar amount could be estimated at this time, it is going to be “a long-term effort which will require a sustained political will and the resources required to make it effective”.

When a reporter asked him if the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort in Afghanistan could be compared to the Marshall Plan, he answered, “I will not exclude it.”

At the dinner, he said that there is a need to project a message of hope following the 11 September attacks, and especially emphasized the Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002, as one that the world could not afford to ignore.

The Secretary-General returned to New York on Sunday, 18 November.