ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BELGIUM, 17-19 JULY

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Brussels, Belgium, in the afternoon of 17 July from the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

On Tuesday morning, he began the day with a meeting with European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.  In a joint press encounter afterwards, the Secretary-General answered two questions -- one on the Middle East and another on Kosovo.

He then met with the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.  They also had a joint press encounter that focused on the Middle East and Darfur, the Sudan.

The Secretary-General spent most of the day Tuesday co-chairing with the African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konaré a pledging conference aimed at strengthening the African Union force in Darfur until an eventual United Nations force can take over.

He opened the conference saying that the meeting was intended to ensure that the African Union had the resources it needed to carry out its critical work in Darfur.  “The lives of many thousands of children, women and men may depend on the outcome of our efforts,” he said.  (See Press Release SG/SM/10568)

The Secretary-General talked about the precious window of opportunity to end the cruel conflict in Darfur.  “No hidden agenda drives us,” he said, “Only the urgent need of Darfur’s people.”  Beyond the support for the current African Union Mission, he said that a United Nations peacekeeping force should come to Darfur, “not as occupiers, but as helpers”.

The Secretary-General took part in the political segment of the Darfur pledging conference and a working luncheon hosted by Mr. Solana, prior to attending the pledging session in the afternoon.

He also met that day with the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, and the Finnish Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja.

Later in the day, he met with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

On Wednesday, he met with European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

He returned to New York that afternoon.