Myanmar: UN envoy heads to Brussels for further consultations

The United Nations special envoy on Myanmar arrived today in Brussels for talks with senior European Union officials as part of efforts to help promote democratization and national reconciliation in the troubled South-East Asian country.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, is due to hold consultations with EU High Representative Javier Solana as well as with the Office of the Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and the EU Presidency, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters.

Next week Mr. Gambari will head to New Delhi for three days of talks with Indian officials, while in February he is also expected to visit Beijing for consultations with the Chinese Government.

The meetings are a continuation of Mr. Gambari’s high-level consultations with key Member States about the implementation of the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate in Myanmar. He has visited the country twice since the Government used force to crack down on peaceful protesters in the summer of 2007.