‘WE ARE DETERMINED’ NOT TO LET IRAQI PEOPLE DOWN, SAYS

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BRUSSELS PRESS CONFERENCE

Following are UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s opening remarks at a press conference at the International Conference on Iraq in Brussels, 22 June:

Today, I believe that Iraq and the international community have turned a page together.

A sovereign elected Iraqi Government has presented the international community with a comprehensive view of Iraq’s future.

In response, we have jointly declared that we will work with Iraq to help meet the priorities and expectations of the Iraqi people.

In short, we have promised to each other to be full partners in the emergence of a new Iraq.

In that partnership, the United Nations is acutely conscious of its responsibilities.

We are determined to help the Iraqis fashion a truly inclusive process, one which makes a real difference on the ground and convinces all Iraqis that they have a stake in a new Iraq.

That is why United Nations personnel are today hard at work, both inside and outside Iraq, carrying out the mandate given to us by the Security Council.

We are assisting in constitution-making, coordinating humanitarian and development aid, and supporting institution-building,

We will continue that work, and we will continue to expand it as much as we can.

So I hope all Iraqis take heart from today’s conference.  The people of Iraq have many friends, and we are determined not to let them down.

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