SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES CÔTE D’IVOIRE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT OF RECONCILIATION AS ‘MAJOR PROGRESS TOWARDS PEACE’

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES CÔTE D’IVOIRE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT

OF RECONCILIATION AS ‘MAJOR PROGRESS TOWARDS PEACE’

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the agreement establishing a government of reconciliation in Côte d’Ivoire, delivered on his behalf by his Special Representative, General Albert Tévoedjré, in Yamoussoukro on 3 April:

It was with profound satisfaction that the Secretary-General learned of the agreement on establishing a government of reconciliation in Côte d’Ivoire.  He welcomes this major progress towards peace and strongly urges you to seize this opportunity to make the process irreversible.

The Secretary-General sincerely congratulates all those involved, who have spared no effort in helping to settle the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire: President Gbagbo and the Ivorian parties, the ECOWAS heads of State, particularly President Kufuor, the French Government and all the other partners in the Follow-up Committee.

The Secretary-General and the entire United Nations system undertake to assist you in your efforts to return your country to its enviable position as a haven of peace and an economic engine of the subregion.

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