..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 28 July 2005
Press Release No: N/36/2005

UN MESSENGER OF PEACE VIJAY AMRITRAJ TO VISIT TSUNAMI AREAS

Former tennis champion advocates for tsunami victims

BANGKOK (UN Information Services) – Former world-class tennis champion and UN Messenger of Peace Vijay Amritraj will visit Thailand from 2-4 August to meet with victims of last year’s tsunami as well as senior UN and Government officials.

On Tuesday, 2 August Mr. Amritraj will meet with senior officials from the UN family in Thailand including the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and representatives of the UN Country Team in Thailand.

In the Phuket area, Mr. Amritraj’s programme includes a meeting with the Governor of Phuket on the afternoon of 2 August, and site visits organized in conjunction with the Thai Department of Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation on Wednesday, 3 August.

On the last day of his visit, Thursday, 4 August, he will meet with senior Thai Government officials and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Vijay Amritraj, former tennis champion, sports broadcaster, and entrepreneur, was designated a UN Messenger of Peace by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in February 2001 and focuses his work on sport for development. In the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he has taken on the additional role of UN advocate for tsunami victims. Mr. Amritraj will visit tsunami-affected areas in Sri Lanka and India when he leaves Thailand.

Note to Editors: Vijay Amritraj will be available in Bangkok for one-on-one interviews in person or by telephone from 12:30-14:30 hrs on Thursday, 4 August. Interested media organizations should contact UNIS Bangkok to make arrangements as soon as possible.

United Nations Messengers of Peace are individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the fields of arts, literature, music, and sports and who have agreed to help focus world-wide attention on the work of the United Nations. More information on UN Messengers of Peace may be found at: www.un.org/News/ossg/messengers.htm

For more information or to schedule an interview with Mr. Amritraj, please contact:

Mr. David Lazarus, Chief
United Nations Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66; Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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