ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN LIBYA, 8-9 SEPTEMBER

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Sirte, Libya, from the Chadian capital N’Djamena on Saturday, 8 September.

Upon arrival in Sirte, the Secretary-General went to see the Great Man-Made River Project as part of his efforts on his current trip in Africa to draw attention to the importance of water as a natural resource.

The Man-Made River Project takes waters from aquifers discovered during oil exploration and supplies freshwater to Tripoli, Sirte and other cities in Libya, as well as for irrigation in the coastal belt.

In the early afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi under a tent in the Libyan leader’s hometown by the sea.

Following a one-hour meeting with both delegations, the two leaders had a one-on-one meeting that lasted about 30 minutes.

The Secretary-General gave a press encounter and described their talks as “constructive and useful”.

He said that the Libyan leader had expressed his full support for the African Union-United Nations leadership in the Darfur peace negotiations and that he would do all to bring together the leaders of movements to participate in the meeting scheduled to begin on 27 October in Libya.

“I sincerely hope that we will be able to pool all resources and wisdom and experience, with the participation of all the parties concerned, to make this a final and successful resolution,” he told reporters.

The Secretary-General then flew to Tripoli where he arrived in the early evening on Saturday and proceeded to a working dinner with the Foreign Minister, Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham.

On Sunday morning, he met with United Nations staff working in Libya and issued a statement on the Darfur peace negotiations before leaving Tripoli for New York.