Visit by Slovenian president Dr Janez Drnovšek to France
Ljubljana, 01/17/2006 | press release, statement
In Paris today, Slovenian president Dr Janez Drnovšek met French Senate President Christian Poncelet and French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.
At the meeting, President Drnovšek presented his initiative for a political and humanitarian solution to the crisis in Darfur. After the talks, President Drnovšek issued a public statement: "We discussed Darfur. My French colleagues had already been informed of my proposals and their response was positive. They were delighted to see Slovenia being involved in this area. The moment was right for me to refine and develop my proposals to allow the UN Security Council to become involved immediately and more intensively in resolving the situation in Darfur.
'"I also put a number of other proposals to them for us to work together to secure the involvement of China, which has a powerful economic presence in Sudan, in the peace process. China could also help to strengthen the peacekeeping mission. This is currently being led by the African Union, which is clearly insufficiently equipped, in terms of numbers and equipment, to ensure peace and security. We agreed that we would continue to keep in contact and would work with French politicians in the search for a solution for Darfur".
President Drnovšek also attended a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters, where scientist, anthropologist and UN ambassador Dr Jane Goodall was presented with the UNESCO 60th Anniversary Medal.
In his address, President Drnovšek expressed his pleasure at being able to attend the event and his admiration for the work of the organisation. He was also delighted that Dr Goodall, an expert on African affairs, had signed up to his "World for Darfur" initiative.