Boutros Boutros-Ghali to visit Canada

"It is a great pleasure to welcome Secretary General Boutros-Ghali," said Prime Minister Chrétien. "In addition to familiarizing him with our preparations for the 1999 Francophonie Summit, it gives the Secretary General a chance to see Canada's vigorous francophone heritage and to discuss francophone issues from an international perspective."

During his stay in Canada, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali will visit Moncton, New Brunswick, site of the eighth Francophone Summit to be held September 3 to 5, 1999. A central theme of the summit is youth, which the Secretary General will be discussing with Canadian officials.

While in New Brunswick (September 6 to 8), the Secretary General will also visit Fredericton. He will then travel to Toronto (September 9), to Montreal and Quebec City (September 10 to 11), to Sudbury (September 12), and Ottawa (September 13 to 15).

In addition to meeting with the Prime Minister, the Secretary General will meet with Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, members of the federal Cabinet, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister for International Co-operation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie Diane Marleau, as well as the Premiers of New Brunswick and Quebec.

La Francophonie boasts 52 member states and governments that share French as a common language. Canada was a founding member of this organization, which evolved from the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation created in 1970. At the VIIth Summit in Hanoi (Nov. 14-16, 1997), La Francophonie adopted a more political role that was confirmed by the election of the organization's first Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, spokesperson and official representative of La Francophonie.

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