Activities of Secretary-General in New Zealand, 2-3 September

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew from Apia, Samoa to Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday, 2 September.

He met with Prime Minister John Key and thanked him for New Zealand’s significant contribution to the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa, as well as its leadership on renewable energy.

During the joint press conference that followed, the Secretary-General said that he appreciated the decisive actions taken by some key countries against terrorist activities in Iraq, and stressed that there was no military solution to the situation in Ukraine.

In the afternoon, he visited the Tuaropaki Trust, whose activities range from geothermal energy to pastoral farming and horticulture, with a focus on environmental sustainability and respect for Maori traditions.

On Wednesday, 3 September, the Secretary-General received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Auckland and gave a lecture to students.  He asked them to be global citizens and to use their enormous powers of connectivity to speak out, take action and be fearless in standing up to injustice.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16120.)

The Secretary-General then met with Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand, and with David Cunliffe, Leader of the Opposition Party in the country.

In the evening, the Secretary-General departed Auckland for New York, where he arrived late in the night.