For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 23, 2001

Remarks by the President and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Photo Opportunity
Outside the Oval Office

4:50 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. It's my honor to welcome the Secretary General to the Oval Office. My administration thinks he is doing an excellent job as the Secretary General of the United Nations, and therefore, we heartily endorse his second term as the Secretary General.

I appreciate your willingness to serve a second term, Mr. Secretary General, and I'm looking forward to working not only to make sure that you serve a second term, but once that's done, work closely with you to keep the peace and to make the world more prosperous.

So, welcome.

THE SECRETARY GENERAL: Thank you very much. Mr. President, I'm also looking forward to working with you. And I'm very happy to be here. We have many issues to work on together, and I'm looking forward to our discussions this afternoon. We will go over a whole range of issues, including HIV-AIDS, poverty, the Balkans and African issues.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir.

Thank you, all. Have a great weekend.

END 4:54 P.M. EST