ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN JORDAN, 11 NOVEMBER

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday morning, 11 November, for Amman, Jordan.  He was met on arrival by the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Farouk Kasrawi.  The Secretary-General travelled to the Foreign Ministry, where he and the Foreign Minister met for about 45 minutes.

In remarks afterwards, the Secretary-General said he was in Amman to express his solidarity with the King, people and Government of Jordan after they suffered a terrible attack.  He noted that many of the victims of the terrorist bombings had been at a wedding party, and said that no cause could justify the vicious killing of innocent civilians.  The Secretary-General renewed his call to all Member States to agree on a comprehensive convention against terrorism, which could be a New Year’s gift to the world’s people if it were to be adopted before the end of 2005.

Afterwards, the Secretary-General called on King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein.  He personally expressed his condolences to the King and to the people of Jordan for the terror attacks.  The King briefed the Secretary-General on measures Jordan has been taking nationally to combat terrorism.

The Secretary-General visited the sites of two of Wednesday’s attacks -- the Grand Hyatt Hotel and the Radisson Hotel.

The Secretary-General then met with the United Nations Country Team and United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) staff based in Amman.

While the Secretary-General was meeting with the King, Nane Annan, accompanied by Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, went to Amman’s Jordan Hospital, where they visited and spoke to children and adults injured in Wednesday’s bomb blast.  Many of the victims at the hospital had also lost family members.