PRESIDENT MBEKI TO LEAD SOUTH AFRICAN DELEGATION TO 57th UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

9 September 2002

President and Mrs. Thabo Mbeki, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Rev. Frank Chikane, Director-General in the Presidency and Adv. Mojanku Gumbi Legal Advisor to the President will address the 57th United Nations General Assembly in New York, from 12th-16th September 2002.

Minister Dlamini Zuma departs South Africa, today, Monday 09 September ahead of President Mbeki.

The President will be attending the UNGA57 in his various capacities as the Chairperson of the AU; NAM and recently as the President of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and as President of South Africa.

In this regard, the President will report back to the UN on South Africa's successful hosting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in August to September 2002 and the launch of the African Union (AU) held in Durban in July 2002 and his role as the Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement with particular reference to the situation in Iraq and the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East

In pursuance of this objective, President Mbeki will:

Address the General Debate of the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly during the Opening session of the General Debate on Thursday, 12 September 2002 in his national capacity as the Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the African Union.
Address the African Group on the African Union and NEPAD as Chairperson of the AU, on Sunday, 15 September 2002.
Address the High-Level Plenary Meeting on the NEPAD, on Monday, 16 September 2002 and act as panellist for the informal discussions on the "International Community's Partnership with the NEPAD" on the same day.
Promote bilateral, multilateral and corporate support for the NEPAD.
Also hold a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Dlamini Zuma will attend the General Debate to participate in a variety of meetings such as the NAM Troika, EU Troika, G77 Meeting and Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs