Activities of Secretary-General in Denmark, 3-5 July

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the evening of Wednesday, 3 July.

On Thursday, 4 July, he had a joint meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Villy Søvndal, and the Minister for Development Cooperation, Christian Friis Bach.  Then, he met with Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

Later, the Secretary-General inaugurated UN City Copenhagen with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.  In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that UN City Copenhagen is an example of how modern, energy-efficient offices can play their part in building the future we want.  Once complete, UN City will house around 1,200 personnel from eight UN organizations providing support to humanitarian, peacebuilding and development operations around the world.  (See Press Release SG/SM/15153.)

The Secretary-General had a private audience with Queen Margrethe II.

Later, he had a joint press conference with Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.  He answered questions on the situation in Egypt.

Then, the Secretary-General had a working lunch with Danish business leaders, hosted by the Minister for Development Cooperation, under the theme:  “Towards 2030:  the role of public-private partnerships to catalyse action to meet global challenges”.

Later, he had a townhall meeting with UN staff in Denmark and a meeting with heads of UN organizations under the theme:  “910 days towards achievement of Millennium Development Goals”.

Then, he gave media interviews to two TV channels, DR TV (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) and TV 2.

Later, the Secretary-General had a phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamal Ali Amr about the situation in Egypt.

Then, the Secretary-General briefly toured the Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, accompanied by the Minister for Development Cooperation.

On Friday, 5 July, the Secretary-General visited the private residence of Finn Juhl, the Danish architect who designed the UN Trusteeship Council, before departing Copenhagen for New York.