The Secretary-General today began his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he met with the members of the Presidency, among other top officials, and also addressed the Parliamentary Assembly. Tomorrow, he will visit Srebrenica. Earlier today, he was in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
On Thursday, at the invitation of the London Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Secretary-General will carry the Olympic Torch on the final leg of its journey in the United Kingdom, in the presence of the President of the IOC. On Friday, he will attend the opening ceremony.
The Secretary-General this morning wrapped up his visit to Montenegro, where he met with the President and other senior officials. He said Montenegro's future is full of promise, and added that the European Union's decision to open accession negotiations illustrates the country's progress in the six years since its independence.
The Secretary-General met with President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing today. He expressed his appreciation for China’s leadership and active participation in the United Nations. They also discussed ways to address global challenges through collective action and multilateralism.
The Secretary-General arrived in Beijing a few hours ago and he has already taken part in a social media conversation with young people through the UN’s “Weibo” microblogging site with the help of Sina Weibo, China's largest network of that kind.
The Secretary-General will leave New York later today for a visit that will take him to China and to South-Eastern Europe. In Beijing, he will take part in a ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In South-Eastern Europe, where he will promote the strong partnership between the United Nations and the countries of the region.
The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, has issued a statement saying he is shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Tremseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry, such as artillery, tanks and helicopters.
The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, acknowledged yesterday that efforts to end the violence in Syria have not succeeded so far. He urged all Governments to work together to press the parties and to support the mediation efforts, adding that it is more powerful if the Security Council speaks with one voice.
The Security Council held closed-door talks on Syria today, with UN-League of Arab States Joint Envoy Kofi Annan briefing via video link from Geneva. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous was on hand to discuss the work of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).
The UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, concluded a visit to Iran today, and he gave a joint press conference with the Iranian Foreign Minister. He told reporters that he was seeking the support and cooperation of Iran in his efforts to resolve this conflict peacefully, and added that he had received encouragement and cooperation from the Foreign Minister.