Activities of Secretary-General in Viet Nam, 28-30 October
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Hanoi, Viet Nam in the afternoon of 28 October.
After an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, he met with President Nguyen Minh Triet. The Secretary-General thanked the President for Viet Nam's support for the “One United Nations” reform and commended the country’s progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Secretary-General and the President stressed their interest in making the United Nations-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit a success.
The next morning, 29 October, the Secretary-General met with Nong Duc Manh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. That was followed by a meeting with Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, during which the two discussed issues relating to United Nations-Viet Nam cooperation, the country’s development efforts, as well as climate change, peacekeeping, United Nations reform and the situation in Myanmar.
Secretary-General Ban also met with the United Nations country team at a town hall meeting, before visiting the United Nations International School in Hanoi and addressing students there. He then toured an HIV/AIDS clinic.
The UN-ASEAN Summit opened formally that afternoon, prior to which the Secretary-General spoke to the press, laying out his priorities. In his address to the Summit, the Secretary-General described the relationship between the United Nations and ASEAN as “strong and growing”. He highlighted the work that the two bodies can do together on moving forward with development goals, human rights, peace and security issues and humanitarian assistance. He also touched on the situation in Myanmar. After his presentation, the Secretary-General responded to interventions by participating Heads of State and Government. (See Press Releases SG/SM/13212 and SG/2167)
Secretary-General Ban then launched a new publication, ASEAN and the UN: Striving Together, before paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. He also held a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the Summit, including with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia and Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand.
Later that evening, the Secretary-General was a guest at a gala dinner hosted by the Prime Minister of Viet Nam.
The next morning, after a meeting with Prime Minister Thein Sein of Myanmar, the Secretary-General left Hanoi for Shanghai, China.