Activities of Secretary-General in Singapore, 22-23 March

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Singapore in the evening of Thursday, 22 March, from Kuala Lumpur.

The next morning, the Secretary-General and Madam Ban visited the National Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.  They toured the gardens and took part in a ceremony at which an orchid was named after them.

The Secretary-General next travelled to Istana, the official residence of the President, to meet the President of Singapore, Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Then the Secretary-General moved to a hotel across town to deliver the inaugural Fullerton lecture for the Asia branch of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.  The Secretary-General said geopolitical developments in the past year had shown there was a reshaping of the political landscape for the twenty-first century and perhaps even a readjustment of the power politics within the broader United Nations.

The Secretary-General spoke about developments in Syria and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and in Myanmar.  He said he would visit Myanmar soon, most probably in April.  (See Press Release SG/SM/14186.)

The Secretary-General next met Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister, and then the Foreign Minister, K. Shanmugam.

Then the Secretary-General visited the NEWater complex, where wastewater is turned into high-grade reclaimed water.

The Secretary-General returned to the Istana presidential residence for talks with the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and attended a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister.

That night, the Secretary-General, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, left Singapore and flew to the Republic of Korea, where they arrived the following morning.