Preparatory Committee                                      

Twenty-three nations sign accord on Asian Highway network

(Reissued as received.)

SHANGHAI, 26 April (ESCAP) -- Exceeding early estimates, 23 Asian countries signed an international agreement for completing a transcontinental network of standardized roadways, at a Shanghai meeting of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

secretary-general encouraged by agreement for talks on darfur region of sudan

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

un will ensure needs of those traumatized by chernobyl nuclear disaster

will not be forgotten, says secretary-general

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

Eighteen years ago today at the Chernobyl power plant, the world suffered the worst nuclear accident in its history.

Reforms, external support needed soon to reach millennium goals,

secretary-general tells high-level meeting

Following is the text of opening remarks, as delivered today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to the special high-level meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council, with the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization:

Secretary-General stresses importance of healthy environment for development,

in message to ‘asia and the pacific 2020’ meeting

Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’smessage to the meeting of the “Visionary Panel for Asia and the Pacific 2020”, delivered by Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in Shanghai, 26 April:

‘unique and historIc’ chance to resolve cyprus problem missed,

says secretary-general, after settlement plan rejected

The following statement, issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was delivered by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, in Nicosia on 24 April:

Asia’s dream of efficient, reliable transport system becoming reality,

says Secretary-General, praising signing of highway network agreement

Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to the signing ceremony for the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network, delivered by Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in Shanghai, 26 April:

CHERNOBYL:  NEEDS Remain GREAT 18 YEARS AFTER NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

NEW YORK, 26 April (OCHA) -- On the eighteenth anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl power plant, Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is urging the international community not to turn its back on the people still affected by the world’s worst nuclear accident.

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