Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 18-19 April
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, 18 April, on a two-day visit, where he met with Chuck Hagel, United States Secretary of Defense, and participated in the spring meetings hosted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The Secretary-General and Mr. Hagel discussed the situations in Syria, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mali and Somalia. The Secretary-General expressed his condolences for the victims of the bombing in Boston and his appreciation for Secretary Hagel’s leadership and support for Mine Action.
Following his meeting with Secretary Hagel, the Secretary-General met with Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister of Haiti, at the World Bank Headquarters. They discussed the current situation in Haiti and the work of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The Secretary-General then participated in a series of high-level meetings on global education, including a steering committee meeting for Global Education First Initiative; “Learning for All” Ministerial Round Table (see Press Release SG/SM/14955; and a gala event entitled “Girl Rising” (see Press Release SG/SM/14956).
On Friday morning, 19 April, the Secretary-General announced the members of the Advisory Board for the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, accompanied by World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim. The announcement kicks off a new phase of activity for the global public-private partnership. (See Press Release SG/SM/14957)
Following the meeting on energy, the Secretary-General had an online interview with World Bank President Kim. He said that the United Nations and the World Bank are working in close partnership to end extreme poverty and redouble efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Then, the Secretary-General participated in an interactive dialogue on “Global Voices on Poverty” with Dr. Kim. The two leaders’ conversation on poverty reduction drew considerable attention on and offline.
Later, the Secretary-General participated in a ministerial dialogue on sustainable development and climate change finance. (See Press Release SG/SM/14959)
Then he met with Justine Greening, United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development. They discussed the post-2015 development agenda, and the Development Cooperation Forum, which is due to take place in 2014.
The Secretary-General later met with the heads of Multilateral Development Banks: Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter American Development Bank; and Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank. They discussed the Memorandum of Understanding between Multilateral Development Banks and the United Nations on Enhanced Collaboration for Improving Statistics.
The Secretary-General returned to New York later on Friday evening.