Activities of Secretary-General in Netherlands, 22-25 March

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew from Kyiv in Ukraine, to The Hague in the Netherlands, on Saturday, 22 March, in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit.

On Sunday, 23 March, the Secretary-General met with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.  Heinformed Mr. Xi about his recent visits to Kyiv and Moscow.

On Monday, 24 March, the Secretary-General met with Judge Sang-hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court, and Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs responsible for International Relations of Israel.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General delivered a statement at the opening session of the Nuclear Security Summit.  He said that nuclear security remains a pressing concern, not least the risk of nuclear terrorism, and added that nuclear security is jeopardized by the very existence of nuclear weapons.  More than 50 Heads of State and five international organizations were of attendance.  (See Press Release SG/SM/15725.)

The Secretary-General then participated in a scenario-based policy discussion on nuclear security.  He also held bilateral meetings with the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, and King Abdullah of Jordan.

In the evening, he was a guest at the working dinner hosted by King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands in Huis ten Bosch Palace.

On Tuesday, 25 March, the Secretary-General held a series of separate meetings with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, his Foreign Minister, Frans Timmermans, and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who is also his Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.  He also had a bilateral discussion with David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on the situation in Ukraine and the global development framework beyond 2015.

After the closing session of the Nuclear Security Summit, the Secretary-General flew to Kangerlussuaq, in Greenland.