Activities of Secretary-General in Luxembourg, 16-18 April

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg, on the evening of Monday, 16 April, on a flight from Brussels.

It was the first visit by a UN Secretary-General to the country since 1999.

On Monday evening, he attended a dinner hosted by Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg.

On Tuesday, 17 April, he had an audience with His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and met senior political figures including Jean-Claude Junker, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Asselborn.  He later held a press conference with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

He also addressed Parliament, as well as the University of Luxembourg.

In his speech to Parliament, he praised Luxembourg for its generosity in official development aid.

He told MPs that Luxembourg provides more than 1 per cent of its gross national income in official development assistance, far surpassing the global target of 0.7 per cent.  (See Press Release SG/SM/14238)

He later told students at the university that it used to be the case that if you wanted to be part of the United Nations, you studied political science.  But today, he said, it doesn’t matter what degree you earn, as long as you have passion and creativity, a sense of mission and a conviction that you can make a difference.

On Tuesday evening, he attended a private dinner hosted by His Royal Highness the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

On Wednesday morning, 18 April, the Secretary-General, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, left Luxembourg by plane to return to New York.