Activities of Secretary-General in Italy, 8-10 July

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived at L’Aquila, Italy, from Dublin, Ireland, on 8 July.

The next morning, he addressed the meeting of the Major Economies Forum Leaders, on the margins of the Group of Eight Summit.  (See Press Release SG/2153.)

Prior to that, he discussed climate change in a bilateral meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Another bilateral meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma covered challenges to regional security in Africa, while the Secretary-General’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel touched on the H1N1 flu pandemic, as well as food security.

He also met with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt, for discussions on United Nations-Sweden cooperation, followed by a joint meeting with Prime Minister Reinfeldt, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.  They discussed United Nations-European Union cooperation in peacekeeping and climate change.

That evening, the Secretary-General took part in the formal traditional G-8 dinner of heads of delegations, hosted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.  After the dinner, he held a meeting with Prime Minister Berlusconi and they discussed Somalia, peacekeeping, development aid and climate change.

The next morning, the Secretary-General took part in a breakfast meeting dedicated to the impact of the economic crisis on Africa with G-8 and African leaders and the heads of various international and regional organizations.  (See Press Release SG/SM/12361-ECO/163.)

That day, before departure, the Secretary-General also addressed the Group of Eight Food Security Session.  (See Press Release SG/SM/12360.)

He later held a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for discussions on climate change.

The Secretary-General left Italy that afternoon for New York.