UNIS/INF/24
19 July 2004
United Nations Secretary-General Concludes Austria Visit
VIENNA, 19 July (UN Information Service) -- The Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan left Vienna on Saturday, 17 July, after a three-day private visit. He is expected back in New York this week.
While here, he met with the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in Baden. The Panel is analyzing future threats and ways to respond collectively to them. He also met with Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner. Among other topics, the Secretary-General and Ms. Ferrero-Waldner discussed non-proliferation issues, the situation in Darfur, Sudan, Iran and Iraq.
In Vienna, the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel, gave the Secretary-General a tour of the newly-renovated Albertina Museum, and they spoke with each other afterward. The Secretary-General also met with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who was visiting Vienna. Mr. Annan also had an informal dinner with the newly-elected Federal President of Austria, Heinz Fischer.
The Secretary-General was on an extended trip that took him to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He came to Vienna from Bangkok, Thailand, where he addressed the 15th International AIDS Conference and spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Ministerial Meeting on HIV/AIDS.
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