SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR PRACTICAL STEPS TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS,

STRENGTHEN POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Following is the text of remarks today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the panel of eminent persons for the World Summit on Sustainable Development:

Security Council

4467^th Meeting (AM)

PRESIDENT OF BURUNDI ASKS FOR CONTINUED SECURITY COUNCIL ASSISTANCE

TO END VIOLENCE, KEEP PEACE PROCESS ON TRACK

While Political Climate Has Improved,

AFRICAN NGOS, FEARING IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES,

ADOPT CAIRO DECLARATION FOR FOOD SECURITY

(Reissued as received.)

Cairo, 5 February (FAO) -- Heads of 30 African non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations (NGOs/CSOs) concluded a two-day consultation held in parallel to the twenty-second Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Africa (4-8 February).

SYMPOSIUM ON BEST PRACTICES IN HUMANITARIAN INFORMATION EXCHANGE

TO BE HELD ON 7 AND 8 FEBRUARY AT PALAIS DES NATIONS

GENEVA, 5 February (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will host the Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Exchange on 7 and 8 February at the Palais des Nations.

NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MEXICO PRESENTS CREDENTIALS

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

Adolfo Miguel Aguilar Zinser, the new Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations, today presented his credentials to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SURINAME PRESENTS CREDENTIALS

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

Irma Klein-Loemban Tobing, the new Permanent Representative of Suriname to the United Nations, presented her credentials to Secretary-General Kofi Annan today.

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES BUSINESS LEADERS, AT ‘TURNING-POINT IN HISTORY’

TO BE ‘PART OF THE SOLUTION’ IN WAR AGAINST WORLD POVERTY

Following is the text of today’s address by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the closing session of the World Economic Forum in New York City:

It’s good to be back in New York, and to find all of you here.

MONTERREY, JOHANNESBURG CONFERENCES CAN LEAD TO BETTER ECONOMIC FUTURE

FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS

Following is the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the ceremony marking the turnover of the coordinatorship of the group of least developed countries delivered today in New York by Gillian Sorensen, Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations:

SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN MESSAGE TO WORLD SOCIAL FORUM, SAYS URGENT CHALLENGES

MUST BE ADDRESSED BY PARTNERSHIPS AMONG GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, CIVIL SOCIETY

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the World Social Forum, delivered on his behalf by José Antonio Ocampo, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on 4 February:

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS JEFFREY SACHS SPECIAL ADVISER

ON MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Secretary-General has appointed Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals.