Secretary-General heads to Germany after wrapping up visit to United Kingdom

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today headed to Munich, Germany, where he will deliver a speech this weekend to conference on security policy, after wrapping up his brief visit to the United Kingdom.

The Secretary-General began his day in London with a visit to the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the UN specialized agency responsible for maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships.

"The United Nations is going through a difficult time," he told the staff, mentioning that the independent panel headed by former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker had revealed "serious lapses in accountability, management and transparency."

But, he added, "I am determined to learn from these problems."

The Secretary-General then held a private meeting with His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. They discussed the follow-on to the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the problem of child soldiers, the need to limit the flow of small arms and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Outside the Archbishop's palace, he stopped for a standard photograph with the outrider team of four motorcycle police who had been escorting his motorcade, and then surprised them by hopping on one of the large bikes for the photo.

He also met with the leader of the UK Conservative Party, Michael Howard. Their discussions focused on the High-level Panel's report, the Darfur region of Sudan, the Iraqi transition, the nuclear issue in Iran and immigration and asylum issues.