President Prodi met with US Secretary of State at WSSD

European Commission President Romano Prodi met US Secretary of State Colin Powell during the World Summit in Johannesburg.

They welcomed the results achieved at the Summit and agreed on the need to implement the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation fully and without delay.

President Prodi expressed his concern over the increasing divide between North and South. He agreed with Secretary Powell that this must be a matter of common concern and that the answer must be found through resolute implementation of a multilateral agenda. President Prodi stressed that the old approach (Trade not Aid) must be abandoned and replaced by Trade and Aid.

They also discussed the situation in the Middle East and Iraq. On the Middle East they shared their concerns about standstill in the Peace Process and stressed the importance of international cooperation. They agreed that Iraq must comply with relevant UN resolutions and must allow the disarmament inspectors to operate without any restriction. Secretary Powell agreed with President Prodi that this is a multilateral problem.

On The International Criminal Court there was common understanding on the need to continue working together to find a solution to American concerns without undermining the principles and objectives of the Court.

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• Now we must turn WSSD agreement into concrete results (4/9/2002)
• President Prodi Speech on North-South Pact at WSSD (2/9/2002)