Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 4-5 June

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled to Washington, D.C., in the afternoon of Thursday, 4 June.

Upon arrival, he met for over an hour with United States Vice-President Joseph Biden.  They discussed United States financial support for the United Nations, a topic on which the Vice-President was supportive.  They also talked about Pakistan, including the humanitarian situation there, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Sudan -- including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) deployment -- Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, non-proliferation and disarmament, Georgia, and climate change.

The Secretary-General also met with a bipartisan group of senators in a meeting hosted by Senate Majority Leader Whip Richard Durbin.  The Secretary-General spoke of the need for United States leadership on climate change and discussed United States financial support of the United Nations.  They also discussed issues ranging from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur to Iran.

On Thursday evening, Mr. Ban took part in a dialogue on international affairs at the Brookings Institution.  That debate was facilitated by Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution.

On Friday morning, he discussed climate change with United States Energy Secretary Steven Chu.  They talked about international cooperation to deal with climate change, including mitigation efforts in developed countries and efforts to bring in the broader international community, including through cooperation with developing countries.

The Secretary-General returned to New York on Friday afternoon.