Activities of Secretary-General in Sweden, 14-15 May

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew from New York to Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday, 13 May, to attend the Global Forum on Migration and Development on Wednesday, 14 May.

Upon arrival, he had an audience with His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden.

He then participated in a civil society seminar organized by the Swedish United Nations Association on “Peace, development and human rights in a changing world”.

After that seminar, the Secretary-General met with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.  He then delivered a statement at the opening ceremony of the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

In his remarks, he noted that more than 1 in 30 people on earth was a migrant and that communities had much to gain from migration when it was managed properly — and much to lose when it was not.  He stressed the importance of grounding all migration policies firmly in fundamental rights. (See Press Release SG/SM/15842.)

Following the event, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden.

They held a joint press conference before visiting Cybercom, an information technology company which employs migrant workers.

The Secretary-General later met with Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the United States.

The Secretary-General flew back to New York on Thursday, 15 May.