Aziz due in New York on April 3

Published March 27, 2006

UNITED NATIONS, March 26: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will arrive in New York on April 3 for a three-day visit to co-chair a meeting of a 15-member United Nations panel on UN reforms, the UN officials here said. The panel was established by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to explore how the UN system can work more effectively in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and environment.

Mr Aziz will co-chair the meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Mozambique Prime Minister Luisa Dias Diogo from April 5-6.

The panel will produce a study that will lay the groundwork for a fundamental restructuring of the UN’s operational work, which will complement other major reforms under way.

Mr Aziz will leave New York for Spain on April 6, say officials.