ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN DAVOS, 22-25 JANUARY
The Secretary-General arrived in Davos on 22 January, for three days, to attend the World Economic Forum.
Shortly after his arrival, he met with other United Nations figures attending the forum, including the heads of the Children’s Fund, Carol Bellamy; the Development Programme, Mark Malloch Brown; the World Food Programme, James Morris; and the International Labour Organization, Juan Somavia. Also in the meeting was the head of the United Nations Programme against HIV/AIDS, Peter Piot; his Adviser on the Global Compact, John Ruggie and the Secretary of his high-level panel on change, Steven Stedman. They explained their roles at the Forum, and the Secretary-General briefed them on Iraq.
He then finished the day with two bilateral meetings.
The first was with the President-elect of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. The President said that he had just announced receipt of $2 million, a million each from the United Nations Development Programme and philanthropist George Soros, to pay the core civil service of the country a decent wage. The President also described his efforts to combat corruption and organized crime. The Secretary-General offered the assistance of the United Nations in the new Government’s efforts to enhance security and promote development.
The second bilateral was with the new Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. They discussed the situation in Kosovo, where Mr. Scheffer had just paid a visit. They also touched on the expanded NATO deployment outside of Kabul, Afghanistan and the threat resulting from increased poppy production there. They finished with a discussion of Iraq.
On 23 January, the Secretary-General gave the keynote address at the World Economic Forum (SG/SM/9125). He told the Forum that, “in just a few short years, the prevailing atmosphere has shifted from a belief in the near-inevitability of globalization to a deep uncertainty about the very survival of our global order”. He said that it is in the interest of business for government to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and noting that the war in Iraq had shifted attention from those goals, he warned, “It is time to rebalance the international agenda”. The Secretary-General drew attention to the accomplishments of his Global Compact in pushing for corporate responsibility over the past five years, but said more must be accomplished, and added he would convene a Global Compact Summit at United NationsHeadquarters in June to reassess the Compact’s work.
In the margins of the forum, the Secretary-General had a full program of bilateral meetings. He met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, and discussed with him Israel’s separation barrier, which he sees as an obstacle to the “Road Map” for peace. In separate meetings with Shalom and with Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, he discussed conditions for resuming the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and raised the matter of the pending advisory opinion of the World Court on the separation barrier, as requested by the General Assembly.
He also met with the President of Poland, Alexander Kwasniewski, with whom he discussed Iraq and the expansion of the European Community to 25 members. In a meeting with new Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, the Secretary-General discussed efforts to provide affordable medication for AIDS patients in poor countries. He briefed the Prime Minister on Iraq, while Martin raised the issues of Zimbabwe and the Secretary-General’s high-level panel on threats, challenges and change.
He also met with Dr. Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The Secretary-General’s first bilateral meeting of the afternoon was with Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the Arab League. They discussed Coalition plans for the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis and the possible United Nations role in that process. On the subject of the Middle East, they touched on efforts to re-launch a dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli leaders. And the Secretary-General asked Mr. Moussa for his support for the high-level panel on change that will report later this year.
The Secretary-General then held two meetings on the subject of the Global Compact for better global citizenship. The first was with several trade union leaders from a variety of countries who expressed strong support for multilateralism, the United Nations and the Secretary-General and in particular, as well as the Global Compact. They offered to help form an independent labour organization in Iraq. The second meeting was with Raymond V. Gilmartin, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Merck and Company USA, who updated him on progress being made on the development of AIDS treatment drugs, including pricing, and work being done on vaccines.
He then met with the Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr. Kamal Kharrazi. The Secretary-General praised Iran’s efficient handling of the tragic earthquake in Bam and again expressed his condolences. On Afghanistan, they expressed their mutual satisfaction at the successful drafting of the Constitution and concern over ongoing threats to security from warlords and the narcotics trade. The Secretary-General briefed the Minister on his possible plan to send a fact-finding team to Iraq to assess the viability of elections. They discussed the different ways that interim leaders could be chosen for an interim government in Iraq as well as security constraints. Regarding the Middle East, the Secretary-General expressed concern over the impasse between the Israelis and the Palestinians concerning the resumption of talks, but the Minister urged him not to give up. Their talks also touched on the security situation in the Middle East generally.
The Secretary-General’s last meeting of the day was with the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. The Secretary-General expressed his profound satisfaction at the efforts being made by both India and Pakistan to overcome their longstanding differences over Kashmir and to normalize their relations. He offered his full support. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and plans for elections next year, now that agreement has been reached on a constitution. Finally, they reviewed the situation in Iraq, including the potential United Nations role in the transition to a sovereign government. The President also briefed the Secretary-General on his views regarding the security situation in that country.
In a press encounter following that meeting, the Secretary-General told reporters that he was extremely pleased with developments between India and Pakistan because “improved relations between the two countries will be really, really important, not just for the two countries but for the region and the world”.
On 24 January, the Secretary-General continued holding bilateral meetings in the margins of the World Economic Forum.
He first met with the former Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Pres, who outlined for him his vision of how to get talks started between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority.
Professor Lawrence Summer, the President of Harvard University, and his wife then paid a courtesy call.
James Morris, the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), introduced to the Secretary-General the Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch cooperation TPG, Peter Bakker. Mr. Bakker’s company made a substantial contribution to the WFP to provide food aide to children in Africa and other parts of the world.
The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then met with the Secretary-General for a discussion on the Cyprus issue. The Prime Minister indicated to the Secretary-General his Government’s strong desire for the Turkish Cypriots to resume talks with the Greek Cypriots with a view to resolving outstanding issues by 1 May. The Secretary-General told the Prime Minister he would study his position carefully. He also indicated that his good offices were still open if the parties were to demonstrate the will to conclude, with United Nations assistance, an agreement, including the holding of referenda by 1 May.
His last appointment of the day was with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende. Their talks touched on the Secretary-General’s high-level panel on change, the situation in Iraq, and efforts to restart talks on Cyprus, given that the Netherlands will assume the Presidency of the European Union on 1 July.
On 25 January, before leaving Davos, the Secretary-General had a breakfast meeting with the chief executive officers of some of the world’s largest corporations to discuss the Global Compact. It was in Davos, five years ago, he told them, that he first proposed the Global Compact, calling on business leaders to embrace within their sphere of influence universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, and the environment. He praised the more than 1,200 companies from over 70 countries that are now participating in the Global Compact, as well as dozens of global labour and civil society organizations. He also challenged them to think of ways to make the Compact more effective. They had an informal exchange of views.
He then flew to Stockholm, Sweden.