I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 1977 Vienna,  December 1977 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC) / CONSULTATIVE STATUS From 9 to 11 February 1977 the President of the I.P.O., Dr. Hans Koechler, attended the annual session of the NGO Committee of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations at UN headquarters in New York to present the International Progress Organization's application for consultative status. Upon conclusion of the annual session, the International Progress Organization was granted consultative status. VISIT OF CONDOLENCE On 28 October 1977, the President of the I.P.O. signed, at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Vienna, the Book of Condolence in memory of  the late Saif Ghobash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the UAE and Member of the Executive Board of the I.P.O., who was tragically killed in a terrorist incident at Abu Dhabi airport. EXECUTIVE BOARD The regular session of the Executive Board was held on 21 April 1977 at Palazzetto di Venezia in Rome, Italy. - The Executive Board decided to appoint Dr. M. T. Mehdi as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY An extraordinary session of the General Assembly of the I.P.O. was held in Innsbruck, Austria, on 23 February 1977. The members decided to transfer the headquarters of the organization from Innsbruck to Vienna. NEW HEAD OFFICE On 1 April 1977 the I.P.O. established the new headquarters in Vienna (1150 Vienna, Reindorfgasse 5). PALESTINE QUESTION The International Progress Organization was co-sponsor of the "Concert for Palestine" on 21 June 1977 in Vienna. On 1 September 1977, the President of the I.P.O. participated in a conversation ("Alpbacher Kamingespräche") with Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel, on the sidelines of the European Forum Alpbach in Tyrol. The I.P.O. participated in the international conference organized by the International Campaign Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East in Paris, France, 14-16 October 1977. LECTURES 17 February: University of Surrey, Guildford, UK: Dr. Hans Koechler on "The Arab World and the West - The Approach of the International Progress Organization." 23 February, University of Innsbruck, Austria: Mr. Kadhim Jawad, Director of the International Press Office, Ministry of Information of Iraq: "Message to the European Intellectuals." 25 February, Austrian Peace Council, Vienna: Dr. Hans Koechler, President of the International Progress Organization: Report on the International Palestine Conference. CO-OPERATION WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS The I.P.O. decided to co-operate on a regular basis with the World Peace Council (Warsaw), the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) (London), the Austrian Peace Council (Vienna), and the International Institute for Peace (Vienna). MEETINGS AND INFORMATION VISITS OF THE PRESIDENT 11-15 February: New York, USA / Consultations at United Nations headquarters with Ambassador Medoune Fall, Permanent Representative of Senegal, Chairman of the Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; Ambassador Chaidir Anwar Sani, Permanent Representative of Indonesia; Ambassador Abdelatif Rahal, Permanent Representative of Algeria; Mr. Bassam Salih Kubbba, Chargé d'affaires, Permanent Mission of Iraq; Mr. Albert Rohan, Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations; Ambassador Piero Vinci, Permanent Representative of Italy; Ambassador Zehdi Labib Terzi, Permanent Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization; Mr. Mohamed Al-Taher, Chargé d'affaires, Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates; Mr. Gerhard Pfanzlter and Mr. Gustav Ortner, Permanent Mission of Austria; Dr. Peter Marboe, General Consulate of Austria; and Dr. Fritz Cocron, Director of the Austrian Cultural Institute in New York. 18 May: Innsbruck, Austria / Ms. Elisabeth de Miribel, Consul General of France. 23 May: Innsbruck, Austria / Dinner meeting with Dr. Herbert Salcher, Deputy Governor of Tyrol, Chairman of the regional branch of the Austrian Socialist Party (SPÖ). 1 June: Milan, Italy / Meeting and luncheon with Dr. Enrico Aillaud, President of Interbanca. 15-17 June: Paris, France / Consultations at UNESCO headquarters with Mr. Eric Armerding, Chief of the Division of External Relations; Mr. Wolfgang Schwendler, Deputy Chief, Division of Philosophy; Ambassador Count Ludovico Carducci Artenisio, Permanent Representative of Italy; and members of the Permanent Missions of Austria and Senegal. 17 June: Paris, France / Ambassador Dr. Carl Bobleter, Permanent Representative of Austria to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 30 June: Vienna, Austria / Mr. Fahad al-Khater, Ambassador of the State of Qatar. 19 July: Vienna, Austria / Ms. Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Vice Mayor of Vienna in charge of cultural affairs. 26 July: Vienna, Austria / Mr. Basil Bolt, Ambassador of New Zealand. 9 August: Vienna, Austria / Dr. Wolfgang Öhler, Consul of the State of Kuwait. 9 September: Vienna, Austria / Dr. Willibald Pahr, Foreign Minister of Austria. 13 September: Vienna, Austria / Prof. Felix Ermacora, Member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Member of the Austrian Parliament.