Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni now in New York on a working visit to the United Nations has held talks with UN Secretary general Kofi Annan, according to a press release issued here on Wednesday by the Ugandan State House.

The talks held on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York focused on the issues of security, peace and development in the Great Lakes region, the release said.

Later, Museveni and Annan co-chaired a regional heads of state summit on Burundi.

The summit welcomed the new President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza and congratulated the people of Burundi upon achieving peace in their country and completing a democratic transition.

The summit pledged support in rebuilding Burundi, which has witnessed a long period of civil strike and suffering.

Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi attended the summit.

President Museveni arrived in New York on Monday for a five-day working visit to the UN headquarters.

On Tuesday, Museveni also attended a meeting of leaders of the African Union (AU) Committee of Ten, which was mandated by the AU to spearhead reforms on the UN Security Council.

During the meeting, the Ugandan president urged fellow heads of states to maintain a uniform stand on the UN reform and demand two permanent seats on the Security Council.

He also urged them to popularize the uniform stand among members of states and the international community.

The meeting also resolved to have a strengthened and revitalized UN General Assembly, fully playing its role as set out in the UN Charter.

Member states on the Committee of Ten include Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia.

Source: Xinhua