Activities of Secretary-General in Ethiopia, 23-24 February

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on the evening of Saturday, 23 February, after leaving New York on Friday and flying via Frankfurt and Khartoum.

On the morning of Sunday, 24 February, the Secretary-General first met at his hotel with President Armando Emilio Guebuza of Mozambique, who is also Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

He then transferred to the Headquarters of the African Union Commission, where he met with Colonel Parfait Anicet Mbay, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Central African Republic.

Next the Secretary-General had a meeting with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, for wide-ranging discussions.

Following this, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn of Ethiopia, who is also Chairperson of the African Union.

The Secretary-General also had a meeting with President Joseph Kabila Kabange of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ugandan Vice-President Edward Ssekandi.

The Secretary-General next took part in the signing ceremony for the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region, an agreement he described as historic, although he said implementation would be crucial.

In his remarks, he said:  “It is my earnest hope that the Framework will lead to an era of peace and stability for the peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region.”  (See Press Release SG/SM/14831.)

The Secretary-General also took part in a press conference in which he said he would brief the Security Council on his return to New York, and that the Council would soon discuss a possible intervention brigade to be deployed with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

After a working lunch with many of the participating leaders, hosted by the African Union Commission Chairperson, the Secretary-General left on a flight to Dubai for a visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he arrived that same evening.