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In Delhi, Annan stresses importance of India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir
15 March – Arriving in New Delhi today on an official visit, Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed the importance for Pakistan and India to resume a dialogue on Kashmir, as well as sign the landmark Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"As in Pakistan, I will be encouraging the Government to sign the CTBT," the Secretary-General told the press on his arrival at the airport. He added that regional issues would be also high on the agenda.

"I will be urging a return to the spirit of the Lahore Declaration and to a renewal of the dialogue with Pakistan in order to reduce tensions and build confidence. This is essential to the peace of both nations and to the security of the people of Kashmir, who have endured too many years of violence and suffering."

Mr. Annan said it was "time to begin healing the wounds, to restore trust and to regain a sense of common good and a common future," and stressed that he remained ready to facilitate a dialogue between Pakistan and India under UN auspices.

Later in the day, the Secretary-General visited the United Services Institute, a training center for peacekeeping directed by General Satish Nambiar, who commanded UN peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The final stop of the day was a meeting with business leaders, whom he urged to support his Global Compact - an initiative to encourage business and labour to respect standards relating to the environment, employment laws and human rights. He also praised private sector leaders working on such efforts as the fight against AIDS and advancements in information technology. "As markets have gone global, so too must the concept and practice of corporate social responsibility," he said.

The Secretary-General arrived in New Delhi from Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he had laid the foundation stone this morning for the Center of International Mother Language Studies. At the ceremony, he noted the importance of preserving the roughly 6,000 languages that are spoken today, emphasizing that the international community must redouble its efforts to protect this common heritage of humankind. "We must accept that languages are not mutually exclusive, but that human beings and humanity are enriched by speaking in more than one language," he said.

Also this morning, the Secretary-General met in Dhaka with four leaders of Bangladesh's opposition, and they discussed the upcoming Bangladeshi elections and the possibility of UN electoral assistance.