SECRETARY-GENERAL COMMENDS IVORIAN LEADERS ON STEPS TO IMPLEMENT ACCORD

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General commends President Laurent Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro for the steps they have taken to date towards implementing the Ouagadougou political agreement.  The Secretary-General, in particular, welcomes the establishment of the integrated command centre on 16 March and the supplementary agreement reached on 26 March, which designates Mr. Soro as the new Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire. 

The Secretary-General also commends President Blaise Compaoré for facilitating the supplementary agreement and congratulates Mr. Soro.  The Secretary-General assures President Gbagbo and Mr. Soro of the readiness of the United Nations to work closely with them to support the implementation of the Ouagadougou agreement.  He also expresses his gratitude to Prime Minister Charles Banny for his significant contribution to the peace process, in particular for his tireless efforts to rebuild trust among the Ivorian parties and launch the key disarmament and identification processes over the past 16 months.

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For information media • not an official record