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Annan to visit NZ next month

WELLINGTON: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will visit New Zealand next month, the prime minister's office said on Wednesday.

Annan will visit New Zealand as part of a tour of the Asia Pacific region and intended to focus on peacekeeping and wider United Nations issues, officials said.

"He'll be in New Zealand from February 22 to 24 but the exact details of the itinerary are yet to be finalised," an official told Reuters, adding that Annan would meet Prime Minister Helen Clark and other political leaders.

Annan's predecessor Boutros Boutros-Ghali visited New Zealand in 1995 as part of a tour of the region.-Reuters