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Annan meets with French President on peace, development and UN reform

Annan meets with French President on peace, development and UN reform

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today in with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, where he arrived yesterday at the start of two-week trip that will also take him to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Pakistan.

Mr. Annan and Mr. Chirac had a wide ranging discussion covering Syria and Lebanon, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq, UN reform and development issues, according to a UN spokesperson.

Immediately following his meeting with the President, the Secretary-General took off for Cairo, where he will begin a two-day official visit tomorrow morning.

Early in that visit, he is expected to deliver a lecture in honour of the late Nadia Younes, who was killed in the 2003 attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad. UN officials said Mr. Annan will pay tribute to her legacy in his address, calling her "almost a prototype of the modern Egyptian woman."