Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 6-7 April

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening, 6 April.

He began the day on Thursday with a meeting at breakfast with members of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee led by Chairman United States Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and ranking member Representative Russ Carnahan.

He then had a bilateral meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry at the United States Capitol.  That meeting was followed by one with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“My meetings have focused on the United Nations and the United States working together in common cause,” he told reporters at a joint press encounter with Senator Kerry.  “Only with global financial support, will the UN have the capacity to work together to implement and achieve the goals and ideas which the United Nations and United States share together.”

In the afternoon, he had a lunch meeting with House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Representative Howard Berman.

He then met with members of the House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee led by Chairwoman Representative Kay Granger and ranking member Representative Nita Lowey.

That meeting was followed by a meeting with the Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Sub-Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  In a press encounter with the Secretary of State, he told reporters that he had had “a series of very productive meetings with congressional leaders” on Thursday.  He also noted that the “stalwart support” by United States President Barack Obama’s Administration has never been more important than it is today, “when we confront major challenges in Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Haiti”.

The Secretary-General left Washington, D.C., for New York on Thursday evening.