Annan to address current, former world leaders at terrorism conference in Madrid

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
will be the keynote speaker at a terrorism conference for
current and former world leaders next month in Madrid, a
spokesman for the Club de Madrid confirmed Tuesday.
The conference will be held March 8-10, the dates chosen
to commemorate the anniversary of the March 11 train
bombing in Madrid last year that killed 191 people and
injured more than 1,500.
Annan will speak March 10, and «he's going to make a
major statement here,» said Christer Elfverson, a United
Nations diplomat working temporarily for the club of about
55 former world leaders.
On Sunday in Munich, Germany, Annan appealed for Europe
and the United States to overhaul global security measures
to combat terrorism, quell regional conflicts and curtail
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Citing security concerns, Elfverson declined to identify
other world leaders who had confirmed they would attend,
but said the list «absolutely» includes current as well
as former leaders. «We know of quite a few who will be
here,» he said.
--mor
1445 Local Time
1145 GMT