ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ITALY, INCLUDING BRIEF STOPOVER IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 9 - 11 JUNE
The Secretary-General departed Geneva on Sunday, 9 June. He arrived in Rome in the late afternoon, where he met immediately with James Morris, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). They discussed the famine in southern Africa and what needed to be done to facilitate efficient delivery of food aid to the region.
He then saw the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), K.Y. Amoako. They assessed the prospects for the World Food Summit review, which the Secretary-General would address the following day.
In the early evening, he met with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, for a review of current efforts to reach agreement between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The Secretary-General gave Mr. de Soto messages to convey to the two parties when he returned to Cyprus the next day, firmly encouraging them to meet their June deadline.
On Monday morning, the Secretary-General addressed the opening session of the “World Food Summit -- Five Years Later”, saying that there has been too little progress over the last five years in reducing hunger worldwide. “There is no point in making further promises today”, he said. The Summit must take concrete action to cut in half by 2015 the 800 million people suffering from hunger now.
He called for help to subsistence farmers, by giving them greater access to land, credit and technology to grow more resistant crops. “Beyond the farm gate”, he added, there must be improvement in rural infrastructure. “And we must secure a central place for women”, he declared, “who are involved in every stage of food production, working for longer hours than men, and are the key to ensure that their families have adequate supplies of food.”
He also said that barriers to food imports from developing countries should be removed, and the impact of subsidies to producers in rich countries should be evaluated. “But the hungry poor also need direct help today”, he argued, calling for food aid, direct nutritional support to pregnant and nursing women and school feeding programmes. “Hunger is one of the worst violations of human dignity”, he concluded. “In a world of plenty, ending hunger is within our grasp. Failure to reach this goal should fill every one of us with shame.” (See Press Release SG/SM/8265.)
The Secretary-General then began a series of bilateral meetings in the margins of the Summit, starting with a one-on-one with the President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
He then saw Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. At the outset of that meeting, they discussed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the upcoming meeting of the Group of 8 countries in Canada. They then met privately.
Mr. Annan’s next appointment was with the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. They reviewed the security situation in West Africa and specifically developments in Liberia as they affected the region as a whole. They also discussed NEPAD and the Group of 8 Summit. The Secretary-General said that no one wants to invest in a bad neighbourhood. Therefore, he hoped that in the next 18 months the conflicts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be resolved and the continent could have a more peaceful image to encourage foreign investment.
His last bilateral of the morning was with the Vice Prime Minister of China, Wen Jiabao. The Vice Prime Minister praised the work of the United Nations, particularly over the last two turbulent years. If the world is a ship, he said, the United Nations is its anchor. The Secretary-General said he appreciated the role of Chinese President Jiang Zemin in seeking to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. They also touched on the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which would start in Johannesburg in late August.
Before lunch, he was asked by a waiting journalist whether the Food Summit could make a difference, given the absence of most heads of State from richer countries. “What is important is what we do after this conference”, Mr. Annan replied. “If we can carry through with action, and help developing countries feed themselves, help them strengthen their institutions and open markets so that they can trade themselves out of poverty instead of living on handouts, I think we will be happy.”
Asked if rich countries should drop subsidies of their agriculture, the Secretary-General replied, “Oh, absolutely. I know it is a major political issue”, he said, “but we cannot talk of free trade and truly open markets if we are going to do that.”
At midday, he attended a luncheon hosted by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Jacques Diouf, in honour of the heads of State and government attending the Summit.
After lunch, Mr. Annan resumed bilaterals, meeting first with the President of Colombia, Andres Pastrana Arango. The President reported on the humanitarian situation in his country, on his concerns over security and on his fight against illegal drug exports.
The Secretary-General’s next meeting was with the President of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, with whom he discussed Togo’s forthcoming parliamentary elections, the security situation in West Africa and efforts to resolve the crisis in Madagascar.
The President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, then met with the Secretary-General. They reviewed progress in the Ethiopia-Eritrea peace process.
His last bilateral of the afternoon was with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Mr. Morris, Executive Director of the WFP, attended with the Secretary-General, and the discussion focused on ways to efficiently deliver food aid to Zimbabwe and the region.
The Secretary-General then travelled to the Palazzo del Quirinale to meet with the President of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The Secretary-General told the President that the Food Summit was off to a good start. He briefed the President on the efforts of the so-called “Quartet” -- the United States, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United Nations -- to convene a Middle East peace conference. They also spoke of the lingering danger as the Indian and Pakistani armies continued to face each other in disputed Kashmir.
The Secretary-General then paid a courtesy call on the President of Ghana, John Kufuor. They had a private meeting at the President’s hotel.
His last meeting of the day was with South African President Thabo Mbeki. Their talks lasted about an hour. They reviewed the situations in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. In addition, they discussed preparations for the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development, and also touched on NEPAD.
On Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General saw Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi before leaving Rome. Their discussions initially focused on United States-Russian arms reductions and plans for reconstruction assistance for the Palestinian Authority. On tensions between India and Pakistan, the Secretary-General said it looked like the prospect of war had receded, which they both welcomed.
The Secretary-General said the Loya Jirga process in Afghanistan was going well and they both agreed that Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there, was doing an excellent job. They discussed the prospects for further stabilization of the Afghan situation.
On the Middle East, the Secretary-General described the efforts of the “Quartet” to convene a peace conference by the end of the summer. Both the Israeli and the Palestinian economies had suffered badly as a result of the recent violence, they agreed.
Their talks also touched on the World Food Summit and the impact of United States and European farm subsidies on agricultural markets.
They said they looked forward to seeing each other again at the Group of 8 Summit in Canada later in the month.
The Secretary-General then flew to London where he met with United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Tony Blair late in the afternoon. During the meeting, which lasted more than 30 minutes, Mr. Blair raised two issues: Africa's New Partnership for Development –- NEPAD -- and the upcoming Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development. They also discussed building up Africa's regional conflict resolution and peacekeeping capacity.
The Secretary-General repeated his goal to resolve the Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo conflicts within the next 18 months.
They mapped a strategy for the Johannesburg Summit focusing on "deliverables" -- specific goals that could be achieved. In addition, their talks also touched on India/Pakistan and the Middle East.
The Secretary-General returned to New York later that day.