Secretary-General holds talks with a wide range of world leaders during Summit

Taking advantage of the record attendance of heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with many of them individually and in groups on a wide range of topics today.

This morning, he conferred with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to discuss the Alliance of Civilizations, for which they are co-sponsors. According to a UN spokesman, they reaffirmed that the Alliance initiative is important at a time of mounting tensions between societies, including those between the West and the Muslim world.

The task ahead, they agreed, is to make this initiative concrete. Both Prime Ministers said that they would help the High-Level Group for the initiative, which the Secretary-General launched in July, to produce a report and plan of action by the end of 2006, and would otherwise assist in making the plan a success.

"The Secretary-General hopes other governments and entities will join in supporting the initiative and contributing to its efforts to overcome divisions and promote mutual respect and understanding," the spokesman said.

Earlier, the Secretary-General addressed a meeting of Heads of State and Government from French-speaking countries.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the Chairperson of the African Union, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and the African Union Mediator for Côte d'Ivoire, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, to discuss the way forward in that West African country.

According to a statement issued by the UN, the participants agreed on the need to intensify the efforts of the African Union, ECOWAS and the United Nations in support of the major agreements reached in Côte d'Ivoire. They also concurred on the need for all parties to cooperate closely in a peaceful atmosphere, to re-establish dialogue and to proceed in earnest and without delay towards the dismantling of militias, the disarmament of ex-combatants and the organization of free and credible elections.

The Secretary-General, President Obasanjo and President Mbeki expressed their determination to continue working closely together to assist the people of Côte d'Ivoire in achieving a peaceful and durable settlement of the crisis, the statement said.

Mr. Annan was also expected to meet today with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Prime Minister of Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.