Page 304 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

Last September, during the first official visit to Bern by Mr. Kofi Annan as
UN Secretary-General, he and I had the opportunity to speak with leaders in
the Federal Government, parliamentarians, and business leaders about the are-
as in which cooperation between the UN and Switzerland might be expanded.
At that time, Defence Minister Adolf Ogi and I discussed preparation of the
Memorandum of Understanding just signed, as an important step in this direc-
tion. I assured him, and I repeat this message today, that UNOG would work
closely with GCSP in fields of mutual interest, which from our side includes
promoting awareness of the UN's principles and purposes, and the mosaic of
UN activities for which Geneva is especially known: human rights and humani-
tarian assistance, disarmament and negotiations, trade and development,
science and technology, research and training. Our library and cyberspace facil-
ities are open to you. We stand ready to serve as a link between GCSP and
other UN bodies. Above all, we look forward to a fruitful and enduring partner-
ship.

282