Annan denies reluctance to tackle Afghan issue

UNITED NATIONS (NNI): Secretary General Kofi Annan has denied any reluctance on his part to address the lingering issue of ethnic strife in Afghanistan.

In response to a question during his first press conference here this year, Annan said the United Nations was "quite active in Afghanistan".

"We recently held a meeting of the 'six-plus-two' (group) and I also met only last week with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) group that is trying to bring the Afghan parties together, led by the deputy foreign minister of Iran," Annan said.

He said as far as South Asia was concerned, he had planned a visit there earlier this year. "But it was not convenient to all the countries in the region and I would have preferred to visit all the countries in one swoop," he said. "That was impossible, so I decided to find another suitable time to do (visit) it," he said.

Asked if he has any travel plans after U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to South Asia this month, Annan said it was not linked to that. "My travel plans are not linked to President Clinton's," he said.

Annan, who has just returned from a trip to East Asia and Australia, starting with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting in Bangkok, said he believed it was an important conference and hoped it would mark a new phase in international economic relations after the disappointment in Seattle.

The member states of the World Trade Oraganisation (WTO) had failed to reach an agreement on launching a new round of trade talks when they met in Seattle in December