Secretary-General, President of Colombia discuss UN assistance to the country

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and the President-elect of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe Velez, today held talks in New York on how the UN can help the strife-torn country.

According to an account of the meeting provided by a spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr. Annan congratulated Mr. Uribe on his recent electoral victory. "They had a useful exchange on the situation in Colombia and the President-elect's ideas for advancing peace in the country," the readout noted. "The Secretary-General and President-elect Uribe agreed to examine in the coming months the most effective ways for the United Nations to assist the Colombian people."

Mr. Uribe confirmed this information in a brief statement to reporters following his meeting with the Secretary-General, saying that the encounter was convened "with the purpose of considering solutions to the problem of violence affecting Colombia, to which the United Nations may lend a positive contribution."

The President-elect, stressing the need to maintain confidentially during the process, said the meeting evaluated several topics "and we will continue to explore the possibilities as discussed."