Annan to attend African summit, Group of Eight meeting

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will leave on Friday on a two-week four-nation trip during which he will attend a summit forum in Africa and a Group of Eight meeting in Europe, a UN spokesman announced today.

Mr. Annan will begin his trip in Lusaka, Zambia, where he will address this year's summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on Monday, 9 July, the spokesman said.

From Zambia, the Secretary-General will head to Munich and Berlin for a two-day official visit, which will include an address at the Freie Universitat Berlin, where he will receive an honorary doctorate. While in Berlin, Mr. Annan will meet with a number of high-level officials, including Federal Chancellor Schröder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

The Secretary-General will then travel to Geneva, where on Monday, 16 July, he will address the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council. This year's high-level segment is devoted to the UN's role in supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development.

That afternoon, Mr. Annan, along with the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Juan Somavia and the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, will launch a youth employment initiative which comes in response to the Millennium Summit Declaration adopted last year by world leaders meeting at the UN.

On 20 July, the Secretary-General is scheduled to attend the "Group of Eight" Summit in Genoa, Italy, which brings together the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation. While in Genoa, Mr. Annan plans to participate in a poverty outreach initiative that brings together the leaders of the G-8 and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the spokesman.

Prior to departing for Europe and Africa, the Secretary-General will visit Philadelphia on 4 July -- United States Independence Day -- to receive the city's 2001 Liberty Medal, along with a $100,000 cash award that he has pledged to the Global AIDS and Health Fund.