U.N. Primed for Historic Millennium Summit

It will be a day for the record books as 63 of the most powerful men and women in the world take the podium to address the U.N. Millennium Summit.

Beginning with a host welcome Wednesday by U.S. President Bill Clinton, the summit will see 33 speakers -- 18 presidents (including Vladimir Putin of Russia, Jacques Chirac of France and Jiang Zemin of China), eight prime ministers (including Ehud Barak of Israel and Tony Blair of Britain); a king ( Abdullah Al Hussein of Jordan); a chancellor, a vice president, a crown prince, a deputy prime minister, and two others.

That's before lunch.

Thirty more world leaders will speak before dinner: 19 presidents (including Cuba's Fidel Castro and Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade); seven prime ministers (including New Zealand's Helen Clark); King Mswati III of Swaziland, and three others.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday welcomed the world leaders to the conference, urging them to use the unprecedented meeting to forge peace and end poverty in the 21st century.

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