Activities of Secretary-General in Malaysia, 21-22 March
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Kuala Lumpur late in the afternoon of Wednesday, 21 March, on a flight from Jakarta.
That evening the Secretary-General attended a dinner hosted by the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Dato Sri Anifah Aman.
On the morning of Thursday 22 March 2012, the Secretary-General visited Kuala Lumpur's Institute of Respiratory Medicine to meet tuberculosis patients to help highlight Saturday's World TB Day and this year's campaign to stop TB in our lifetime.
After a townhall meeting with United Nations staff at the Wisma United Nations building, he next delivered a speech at the Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations before driving to Putrajaya, about an hour from Kuala Lumpur, to meet the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, at his office there.
In his speech at the institute, the Secretary-General commended Malaysia for making great strides towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals and urged the country to help share its experiences with other countries in the Global South. He also said Malaysia and its neighbours face common challenges related to human rights, including protecting the rights of migrants. (See Press Release SG/SM/14183)
After his meeting with Prime Minister Najib, the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister gave a press conference during which the Secretary-General took questions on Syria, Myanmar and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. On the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he reiterated his concern over its intended launch of a satellite next month using a ballistic missile. He said he hoped the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea would refrain from any acts that would destabilize the Korean peninsula.
The Secretary-General then travelled to Port Dickson to visit the Malaysian Peacekeeping Training Centre. He paid tribute to the thousands of Malaysian peacekeepers who have served in United Nations missions since 1960 and the 28 who have lost their lives. (See Press Release SG/SM/14184)
The Secretary-General, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, left Kuala Lumpur that same evening and flew to Singapore.