ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BURKINA FASO, INCLUDING

 

BRIEF STOPOVERS IN CHAD AND MOROCCO, 24-25 NOVEMBER 2004

The Secretary-General left Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, early on Wednesday, 24 November, and headed to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for an official visit.

Prior to arriving in Ouagadougou, the Secretary-General and his party landed in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena for a refuelling stop.  The Secretary-General was greeted by Prime Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat, with whom he met for about 30 minutes.  In speaking to reporters afterwards, the Secretary-General said they had discussed the situation in Darfur and that he had thanked the Government and the people of Chad for giving safe harbour to so many refugees from the Sudan.

On arrival in Ouagadougou late in the afternoon, Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Paramanga Yonly was waiting to welcome the Secretary-General on his official visit.  Following a brief meeting, the Secretary-General told reporters that he expected to discuss a number of African crises with President Blaise Compaoré, including the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

Asked if he had a message for the Ivorian people in general, and President Laurent Gbagbo in particular, the Secretary-General said it is essential that they engage in a dialogue and reconciliation to save their country.  “There is no military solution”, he said, “so they have to find a way to live together.”

Later that evening, the Secretary-General met one-on-one with President Compaoré for close to 45 minutes.  Their meeting was followed by an official State dinner given by the President in honour of the Secretary-General and his party.  During the dinner, the Secretary-General was given the National Order of Burkina Faso by the President.

The next morning, the Secretary-General cut his visit short and returned to New York, where he was needed to follow up on pressing matters relating to the United Nations presence in Iraq.

His address to the meeting of the Francophonie was delivered on his behalf by his Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Ibrahima Fall.  (See Press Release SG/SM/9617-AFR/1074.)

On the return journey to New York, the Secretary-General’s plane stopped to refuel in Marrakech, Morocco.  During the hour-long lay-over, the Secretary-General met with Morocco’s Minister of the Interior, Mustapha Sahel.

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