March 04, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will visit Ottawa on March 8 and 9, at the invitation of Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

“I look forward to Secretary-General Annan’s visit and his address to Parliament,” said the Prime Minister. “Canada has strongly supported the United Nations throughout the nearly six decades since its founding. For many Canadians, the UN is the locus of international cooperation and common humanity - where the world meets as one. That is why we want to hear the Secretary-General's views on the United Nations, its future, as well as key current global and regional issues.”

After his arrival on March 8, Secretary-General Annan will attend a state dinner hosted by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

On March 9, after a visit to the Peacekeeping Monument, the Secretary-General will address a joint session of Parliament. This will mark the third time in Canada’s history that a United Nations Secretary-General has addressed parliament. Former Secretary-General U Thant spoke in parliament on May 26, 1964, and 19 years ago, almost to the day, former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar did so on March 7, 1985. Following his address, the Secretary-General will meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin and other members of the cabinet, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, National Defence and International Cooperation.

Later in the day, the Secretary-General will visit the Monument to Canadian Aid Workers at Rideau Falls Park. He will then meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in development at a session hosted by the Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister for International Cooperation, at the International Development Research Centre.

Finally, following a meeting with Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner-Designate for Human Rights, the Secretary-General will accept honorary degrees from the Universities of Ottawa and Carleton.

Prime Minister Martin and Secretary-General Annan have met a number of times, most recently in New York on March 1, 2004, when the Prime Minister presented, as Co-Chair, the report of the Commission on Private Sector and Development.

Secretary-General Annan last visited Canada in 2002 as an invited guest to the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, at which G8 leaders adopted the Africa Action Plan in support of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

The Secretary-General will be accompanied on this visit by his wife Nane Annan, a lawyer and artist.