United Nations

 NEW YORK, 5 September (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

 The Secretary-General met at noon today with four southern African Presidents to discuss the issue of land reform in Zimbabwe.

 The four Presidents -- Dr. Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe -- and the Secretary-General recognized the urgent need for such land reform as well as the sovereign responsibility of Zimbabwe to implement a credible programme which would engage the interest of the donor community. They also recognized the responsibility of the international community to assist the Government.

 The Secretary-General is now awaiting an implementation plan from the Government which could also be shared with the donor community. He has instructed the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to work with the Government of Zimbabwe to see whether it is possible to establish a sound technical process to take the matter forward, consistent with the principles agreed at the International Donors Conference on Land Reform in 1998.