ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: UN secretary-general Kofi Anan is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday afternoon to participate in the Nov 19 International Donor Conference convened by President Gen Pervez Musharraf to seek funding for earthquake relief and rebuilding.
The UN secretary-general, who will be accompanied by his wife and senior UN officials, will be coming on his special aircraft.
Officials here said Mr Kofi Annan will on Thursday have no formal meetings with the government officials and will remain busy with ‘internal’ meetings. However, a heavy agenda awaits him on his first visit to Pakistan where he will also tour some of the earthquake-affected areas in Azad Kashmir and Northern Pakistan.
During the day he will call on President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, separately. He will also call on Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri at the Foreign Office. In the evening he will also hold a press conference.
The UN secretary-general arrives here amid cautious optimism of a positive outcome of the donor conference that will gauge the international community’s level of involvement in the crucial stage of reconstruction.
For obvious reasons Pakistan has invited only donor countries to the conference and not the entire UN membership.
The one-day conference will seek financial contributions for the earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation phase that requires an estimated US$5.2 billion.
