Activities of Secretary-General in Switzerland, 18-19 July

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Switzerland from Finland on Monday evening, 18 July.

In Geneva the following morning, the Secretary-General addressed the third Global Review of Aid for Trade at the World Trade Organization.  He applauded the international community’s efforts to mobilize resources categorized as Aid for Trade, which today account for as much as one third of official development assistance.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13709)

But he said that, at a time of tight budgets, the annual rate of increase for Aid for Trade has slowed sharply.  The Secretary-General urged the donor community not to fall short of the present level of Aid for Trade, at the very least.  And he encouraged States to pay special attention to the unique needs of the least developed countries and to fully utilize the potential of Aid for Trade to advance food and nutrition security. 

He had earlier met with Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, with whom he discussed Aid for Trade.

The Secretary-General also met that day, at the Palais des Nations, with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey.  They discussed the work of the Global Sustainability Panel, of which the President is a member, as well as assistance to South Sudan, Swiss support for peacebuilding initiatives in Africa and Haiti, and the Swiss role in various mediation efforts. 

Mr. Ban returned to New York on Tuesday afternoon.