Secretary-General: Press Release

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:

At 12:10 p.m. today, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom. Their meeting was devoted entirely to the financial crisis of the United Nations. Mr. Major assured the Secretary- General that the United Kingdom would continue to work with Sweden to move forward on the review of the scale of assessments. He repeated the United Kingdom's view that all Member States should pay their contributions in full and on time.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:

The Secretary-General at 4.30 p.m. today received the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni L. Rabuka. The Secretary-General thanked him for his presence in New York to attend the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly marking the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. He also expressed his appreciation for Fiji's contribution to peace-keeping operations.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:

At 5 p.m. today the Secretary-General met His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. The Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, also attended the meeting.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:

At approximately 1 p.m. Sunday, 22 October, the Secretary-General met with President William J. Clinton of the United States. They had a broad exchange of views on world issues, including the situations in Haiti, Angola, Guatemala, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the former Yugoslavia, expressing the hope that a peaceful settlement would soon be found in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali:

At 5 p.m. today, the Secretary-General met with His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia and Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. The Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, also attended the meeting.

Following is the text of the toast delivered by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to the luncheon for heads of state and government at Headquarters on 23 October:

Following is the text of the toast by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on behalf of those present, at the luncheon for heads of State and government, at Headquarters on 23 October:

It is a privilege for me to stand next to one of the greatest Africans that has ever lived -- after Hannibal. Hannibal was the African from North Africa who thought he should civilize the Europeans. Now, the next greatest African after him is the Secretary-General here, who has become Secretary-General of the whole world, which is a very big honour for us.

Following is the text of the toast delivered by United States President William J. Clinton, on behalf of all attending, at the luncheon for heads of State and government held at Headquarters on 22 October:

Following is the text of the toast delivered by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at the luncheon for heads of State and government held at Headquarters on 22 October:

I am grateful to heads of State and government for coming here to mark the first fifty years of the United Nations. The United Nations deserves the honour you show it by your presence. This is because the United Nations is the Organization that works for tomorrow.

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali met with the following heads of State or Government on Saturday, 21 October;

9:30 a.m. President of Uganda, Youeri Kaguta Museveni;

10:45 a.m. President of Sierra Leona, Valentine E.M. Strasser

11 a.m. President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga

11:30 a.m. President of Gabon, El Hadj Omar Bongo

11:45 a.m. President of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoon

12:05 p.m. President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliev

3:05 p.m. President of Moldova, Mircea Snegur