Mbeki to lead SA to UN Assembly

2004-09-18 16:08

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki will on Monday lead the South African delegation to the 59th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said on Saturday.

Scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday - the last day of the session - Mbeki would support the reform and expansion of the UN Security Council, which was expected to be high on the agenda, said Mamoepa in a statement.

He said it appeared there was "a marked increase of political will at highest levels of government to address the reform and enlargement of the UN Security Council".

Promotion of peace and stability on Africa

Mbeki would also speak on promotion of peace and stability in Africa because it remained a "high priority" for the South African government.

He would also call for "maximum" support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

"It is important that support already allocated to Nepad by the UN system, is further concretised and where possible increased," Mamoepa said.

The delegation would include Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

SA expected to be deputy to NZ

South Africa is expected to be deputy to New Zealand as chair of the General Assembly's budgetary and administrative committee.

Gabonese Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Ping was elected president of the three-day session.

The instability in Iraq and transferring the country's sovereignty to its interim government was also expected to be high on the General Assembly's agenda.

"The global campaign against terrorism remains a predominant issue in the international arena especially in view of the continuing attacks throughout the world," said Mamoepa.

He said Mbeki would promote "a greater and more relevant role for the UN in the post reconstruction and development of Iraq". South Africa would also urge the UN to play a central role in combating terrorism.

The importance of reinforcing the UN's multilateral system was also a high priority for the session, which is also expected to discuss the Middle East crisis, particularly the construction of the Israeli separation wall.

- SAPA