ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN GERMANY, 7 - 11 JULY

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Berlin, Germany, from Accra, Ghana, in the morning of Friday, 7 July.

That afternoon he spoke at the unveiling of the World Cup emblem for the 2010 contest, to be held in South Africa.  He said that it was an exciting day, “not only for all Africans, but for all speakers of the universal language of football”.  (See Press Release SG/SM/10554.)

He thanked the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) for bringing the World Cup to Africa, and indicated that he would be there.

On Sunday afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister.

In a meeting that lasted more than one hour, the Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister discussed a wide-ranging number of issues:  the ongoing talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, Iraq, the Human Rights Council, the Middle East, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Cyprus.

Afterwards, the Secretary-General joined Germany’s Federal President, Horst Köhler, at the World Cup final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Early on Monday morning, the Secretary-General and his wife, Nane, travelled to Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German President, for a breakfast hosted by the President and his wife, Eva Luise.  The Secretary-General congratulated the President for Germany’s organizing the most successful World Cup ever.  He also noted how the tournament had brought to the forefront a very positive wave of Germans’ support for their own country.

The President also discussed a number of issues related to development in Africa.

Later in the day, the Secretary-General travelled to the Henning-von-Treskow barracks, the location of the EUFOR Operations Headquarters, for a briefing on the European force being deployed to support the elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Force Commander, Lieutenant General Karlheinz Viereck.

While at the barracks, the Secretary-General was guest at a working lunch hosted by the Federal Defence Minister, Dr. Franz-Josef Jung.

Prior to the lunch, the Secretary-General and the Defence Minister discussed issues relating to peacekeeping, including the European force being deployed to support the elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Secretary-General thanked Germany for its leadership role in the mission, and told the press that he was very impressed by what he had seen.

In the early evening, the Secretary-General attended a forum jointly organized by the Bertelsmann foundation and the United Nations Association of Germany.

In his remarks, he drew attention to the need for the Group of Eight nations to deal with energy security at their meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and warned that energy security cannot be achieved unless the environmental consequences of energy consumption are addressed.  (See Press Release SG/SM/10567.)

In a separate programme on Monday, Nane Annan met and spoke with volunteers and students involved in United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Germany’s campaign “You and me against AIDS”.  “Children are the hidden face of AIDS”, she said.  “They are dying from lack of care and treatment.  They are losing their teachers, friends and parents.  Almost 15 million children worldwide are orphans because of AIDS, often with no one to watch over them.  That is the equivalent of every child in Germany.  We must ensure that children are not forgotten in the global fight against AIDS.”

In the afternoon, Mrs. Annan visited a cultural integration centre for immigrant girls mainly of Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish origin.   The girls, aged 10 to 20, spoke with Mrs. Annan about their experiences and the benefits they receive from the centre, including social support, counselling, assistance with homework and job applications, computer training and vocational guidance.  The centre was initiated by three young Arabic women and is supported by the city of Berlin.

On Tuesday, at the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn, the Secretary-General met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and discussed a range of issues, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, the Middle East and United Nations reform.

At a joint press encounter with the Chancellor following that meeting, the Secretary-General said he believed that no reform of the United Nations would be complete without the reform of the Security Council.  He added, “It is no longer acceptable that major countries and major international powers are not at the table, and these are the powers we turn to when we have problems in regions.”

The Secretary-General and the Chancellor then participated in the opening of a campus that will now house all the United Nations agencies working in Bonn.  In comments at that opening, the Secretary-General pointed to the remarkable breadth of the work the United Nations is doing in Bonn, from dealing with climate change and protecting endangered species to organizing the dispatch of thousands of volunteers around the world.  (See Press Release SG/SM/10561.)

The Secretary-General and the Chancellor were given a tour of the United Nations building, the “Langer Eugen”, after having officially cut the ribbon.

The Secretary-General then attended a lunch hosted by Sigmar Gabriel, Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, on the top floor of the building which now houses the United Nations offices in Bonn.  Also attending the luncheon were the heads of United Nations agencies and programmes located in Germany.

Immediately following the lunch, the Secretary-General met with the new head of the United Nations Environment Programme, Achim Steiner.  He also had a brief meeting with the founder of Transparency International, Peter Eigen.

The Secretary-General later also met with Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.

Prior to his departure from the former German capital, the Secretary-General held a town hall meeting with the United Nations staff in Bonn.

The Secretary-General’s delegation departed for Italy early in the evening of 11 July 2006.