Secretary General Annan to visit Ireland

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D., today announced that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will pay an official visit to Ireland from 13-16 October.

In the course of his visit, the Secretary General will meet with President McAleese and with An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D. He will also have a working dinner with the Minister for Foreign Affairs on Friday 15 October.

Secretary-General Annan will address the Forum on Europe on the issue of EU-UN Cooperation in Crisis Management. He will also visit McKee Barracks to meet with Irish personnel and veterans of UN peacekeeping operations, and to inspect Irish military assets in use in UN peacekeeping operations.

Announcing the visit, Minister Ahern said,

“I am delighted to announce this important visit by the Secretary General. Commitment to the United Nations has long been a cornerstone of Ireland’s foreign policy and this, in turn, is a clear reflection of the broad support the Organisation enjoys in this country.

The period ahead is a particularly important one for the United Nations as all Member States prepare for a High-Level Meeting which will review the state of progress in the implementation of the Millennium Summit Declaration and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Ireland, in our period as EU Presidency, worked hard to ensure support worldwide for the work of the UN and for effective multilateralism. The visit of the Secretary General, therefore, offers a timely and valuable opportunity to review how best we can further develop our support for the UN, both nationally and through the EU.

I am looking forward to positive and productive discussions with the Secretary General during his visit.”

Note for Editors:
Further details of the Secretary-General’s programme and appropriate media opportunities will be made available closer to the time of the visit.

Secretary General Annan last visited Ireland in January 1999.

The year 2005 will be an important one in the United Nations as it prepares for a High-Level Meeting in 2005 which will review the state of progress in implementation of the Millennium Summit Declaration and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals also adopted in 2000. These eight goals refer to identifiable targets in areas such as poverty eradication, good governance, gender equality, universal primary education and HIV/AIDS. In addition, the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which was established by Secretary-General, to examine how best collective action can meet current and future threats and challenges, will make its recommendations to the Secretary-General at the end of 2004.

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