Activities of Secretary-General in Spain, 6 July

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon‑taek, arrived in Spain from New York on Wednesday morning, 6 July.

The Secretary-General met with His Royal Highness Prince Felipe and joined him on a Spanish aircraft which flew his delegation to Valencia.  There, the Secretary-General and the Crown Prince inaugurated the United Nations Support Base, which will provide “a vital backup to the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy”.  “United Nations peacekeeping, peacebuilding and special political missions depend on communications,” he said.  “For too long, those operations were served by one hub, leaving them vulnerable.”  (See Press Release SG/SM/13692)

Upon returning to Madrid, the Secretary-General had a working lunch with Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez.

He also met with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.  The Secretary-General attended a meeting hosted by the Prime Minister on food security, sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals.  “Now is the time,” he said, “to focus on the ‘how’ of enhanced food security.  That means working together on several key challenges.”  Meeting those challenges would demand commitment, creativity and leadership, he concluded.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13693)

Mr. Ban flew to Geneva later on Wednesday.