SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MYANMAR WILL VISIT YANGON, 23-26 APRIL

The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

Razali Ismail, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar, will visit Yangon from 23 to 26 April 2002 to help facilitate the national reconciliation process in Myanmar.

During his four-day visit, Mr. Razali is expected to meet with Government leaders, including Senior General Than Shwe, Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as well as with senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), including its General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Secretary-General hopes that Mr. Razali’s mission will provide the process with a fresh momentum so that the two sides can develop their confidence-building talks to a more substantive dialogue in the near future.

Mr. Razali’s seventh mission since his appointment as the Special Envoy in April 2000 was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed at the Myanmar Government’s request.

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