United Nations, Feb 16, SPA -- US President George W. Bush has proposed a cutback of $193 million in peacekeeping operations in several African countries. Patrick F. Kennedy, President Bush’s Under Secretary for Management, on February 9, in response to a reporter’s question on the 2008 U.S. budget for peacekeeping said, “It’s going down. It’s going down 193 million.”Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Marie Okabe told S.P.A. on Friday, Ban discussed this issue with President Bush on Friday afternoon. Marie categorized the issue as “cuts in contributions to peacekeeping.” “I know there’s discussions on this issue, but I’m not briefed on the latest development there,” Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told S.P.A. on Friday evening. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush are expected to leave for a five-nation trip between February 15 -21. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his meeting with President Bush said, “Your visit to African states at this time will be very important and historic. I hope you are able to discuss with African leaders on how to achieve these Millennium Development goals, how to help people overcome abject poverty, and sanitation [problems] and access to educational opportunities.” “I appreciate very much your desire to help the poor and feed the hungry, and on my trip to Africa this week, that’s exactly the same message I’ll be taking, that the American people are a compassionate people, a decent people, who want to help moms with -- deal with malaria, and families deal with HIV/AIDS, and the need to feed the hungry,” President Bush told Ban. The Saudi Press Agency has learned that there were no detailed remarks in the meeting between President Bush and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the proposed cutbacks in peacekeeping operations even on the eve of President Bush’s trip to Africa.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/527348