In Paris, Annan to meet with Chirac, UK's Blair

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who arrived in Paris this morning for a two-day visit, plans to hold separate bilateral meetings on Tuesday with French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his spokesman said.

According to UN spokesman Fred Eckhard, the Secretary-General will also deliver an address to a meeting hosted by President Chirac and the Office of the Global Compact on business contributions to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Global Compact is a UN inter-agency initiative championed by Mr. Annan which seeks to advance good corporate citizenship and responsible globalization.

Later today, Mr. Annan is expected to meet with the newly-appointed Foreign Minister of France, Philippe Douste-Blazy.

Shortly after his arrival in Paris this morning, Mr. Annan met with his Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who briefed him on his Sunday meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Mr. Annan issued a statement from Paris saying that Mr. Roed-Larsen had told him that his discussion with the Syrian President was "constructive and helpful," the spokesman said.

The Secretary General is expected to return on Thursday to UN Headquarters in New York.