Arshia Tayyab meets Mr. and Mrs. Kofi Annan

Arshia Tayyab met with Mr and Mrs Kofi Annan recently. Since his retirement from his work at the United Nations, they live in Geneva, Switzerland. Tayyab and Kofi Annan share a mutual interest in the improvement of the economies of developing countries. A former secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan was co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

“Kofi Annan told me that he became Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations on Friday, December 13, not an auspicious day,” said Tayyab. “He had to deal with a board of 192 members. He joked that ‘God gets to work alone and has the veto. God does not have to have 192 members agree. God gets things done.’” Annan added that ‘SG sometimes stands for scapegoat.’ Mrs. Annan listened intently to her husband and smiled."

They talked about Tayyab’s father, who has worked with Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party; and on UN initiatives. He has also worked in press, radio and television in Pakistan. Tayyab asked whether Annan had spoken to Bhutto recently, but he had not. “She is probably very busy now,” said Annan. “The situation in Pakistan is very sensitive.”

Annan’s three main interests are: human rights, labor issues, and environmental issues. He said that the main risks and threats of the twenty-first century are war, violence and civil war, poverty, nuclear and biological weapons, terrorism, and international organized crime.


“There is no security without development and no development without security,” he said. “With prevailing conditions in Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and Syria, the world cannot afford another military war in Iran. Oil prices might go over 100 dollars and the world economy will be impacted.”

Tayyab was pleased to have met Annan. “I think he is one man who understands international relations like I do. You only truly understand when you have to live and breathe it,” according to Tayyab.

Tayyab is president and CEO of CCI-Worldwide, a privately-held consulting company that assists clients in forming organizational globalization teams capable of reviewing twenty-first century IT requirements for outsourcing and off-shore projects. A frequent industry spokesperson, Tayyab has advised the Pakistan Software Board and the U.S. Government. She has been interviewed by Pakistan TV, Pakistan radio and newspapers and other publications on her international efforts. She has been identified as one of the top Information Technology professionals by “Who’s Who in Information Technology.” She speaks English, German, Hindi, and Urdu, reads and writes Arabic, and has a working knowledge of French and Italian.