Top UN Official Arrives in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 22 (acn) Mogens Lykketoft, president of the seventieth period of sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, arrived today in Cuba on an official visit, where he will attend the signing by the Colombian government and the FARC-EP of a bilateral ceasefire and surrender of weapons.

At the Jose Marti International Airport, the distinguished visitor was received by Abelardo Moreno, Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba.
Lykketoft will accompany on Thursday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who will participate as special guest in this important event for regional peace.
According to the official website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, this visit is part of Cuba's strong commitment to multilateralism, consolidation and democratization of the United Nations and the revitalization of the General Assembly.
During his stay, the top official will hold meetings with officials of the government and local institutions.
The delegations of the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) announced on Wednesday by way of a joint communique that tomorrow they will sign in Havana an agreement for a ceasefire and the bilateral and definitive cessation of hostilities.
For more than three years now spokesmen of the two parties have been holding talks in Cuba, and have succeeded in reconciling positions on issues of comprehensive rural reform, political participation, combating illicit drug trafficking and attention to victims.
Heading the ceremony will be Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia; Timoleon Jimenez, commander of the FARC-EP and the guarantor countries.
As pointed out by the Joint Communique No. 75, Cuba will be represented by Army General Raul Castro, president of the councils of State and Ministers, and Norway by Foreign Minister Borge Brende.
Representing accompanying nations will be presidents Michelle Bachelet and Nicolas Maduro of Chile and Venezuela, respectively.
Also attending the ceremony will be Danilo Medina, president of the Dominican Republic, as President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC; Salvador Sanchez, president of El Salvador, and special envoys to the peace process from the United States and the European Union.