Appointment of new UN Secretary General welcomed

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today welcomed the appointment of Kofi Annan to the post of United Nations Secretary-General. "Canada is very pleased with Mr. Annan's appointment. We worked with Mr. Annan in his previous post of UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping and we look forward to working with him again on the full range of issues facing the organization, foremost among them, UN renewal," said Mr. Chrétien.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Boutros-Ghali and commend him for his leadership over the last five years. There were many serious challenges to global peace and security and human development during this period. Canada greatly appreciated his sincere dedication and commitment to the international community under sometimes very difficult circumstances. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours," added the Prime Minister.

Mr. Annan, a citizen of Ghana, will commence his five-year term as UN Secretary-General on January 1, 1997.

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