Activities of Secretary-General in Brunei Darussalam, Including Stopover in Singapore, 10-12 October
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Brunei Darussalam mid-morning on Thursday, 10 October, after flying from Budapest through Frankfurt and Singapore.
The Secretary-General spent most of the rest of the day at the venue of the summit meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where he first attended a working lunch with the ASEAN leaders and other visiting leaders, including Secretary of State John Kerry of the United States and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation.
Next the Secretary-General met with Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa.
The Secretary-General then met with Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thai Prime Minister.
He also had a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia.
He next attended and spoke at the Summit of ASEAN and the United Nations. In his remarks, the Secretary-General highlighted four areas where the ASEAN-United Nations partnership can produce tangible results ‑ regional connectivity; sustainable development; human rights; and peace and security. He said the United Nations needed ASEAN’s engagement and dynamism to set new standards for equitable growth and sustainable development in the region and beyond. (See Press Release SG/SM/15384.)
After the Summit, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters.
On Friday morning, 11 October, the Secretary-General had a working breakfast with President Thein Sein of Myanmar.
Next, the Secretary-General had an audience with His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan Negara of Brunei Darussalam. He then met with Prince Bolkiah, Brunei Darussalam’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Later, the Secretary-General toured the Kampong Ayer Water Village, which is an entire community complete with schools and a fire station set on stilts in the estuary that runs by the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.
He met with Pehin Lim Jock Seng, Brunei Darussalam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, before leaving Brunei Darussalam to fly back to New York. His flight took him first to Singapore, where he had a working dinner with Albert Chua, Deputy Secretary for Asia-Pacific and International Relations at Singapore’s Foreign Ministry.
The Secretary-General arrived back in New York mid-morning on Saturday, 12 October, after a further stop in Frankfurt.