Activities of Secretary-General in Djibouti, 28-29 October

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Djibouti on Tuesday, 28 October, on the second leg of a joint visit to the Horn of Africa region, with the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, as well as representatives of the African Union, European Union, African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.

Shortly after his arrival, the Secretary-General met with the President of the National Assembly, Idriss Arnaoud Ali and then with the Prime Minister of Djibouti, Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed.  With both officials, he discussed food security and development issues, as well as peace and security issues in the country and the wider Horn of Africa, including the situation of refugees and the issue of counter-terrorism.

After visiting the port of Doraleh, the Secretary-General met with the heads of the United Nations Country team in Djibouti over dinner and then attended the United Nations Day official reception.  In his remarks, he said that the United Nations and Djibouti were working together for peace, development, human rights and progress against climate change.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16289.)

The next morning, 29 October, the Secretary-General met with the President of Djibouti, Ismaël Omar Guelleh, and exchanged views on issues affecting the country and the wider Horn of Africa.  They also discussed the United Nations readiness to support Djibouti in preparing for the elections in 2016.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said that the United Nations and international partners such as the African Union, the European Union, the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank were visiting the region together as a way of demonstrating their solidarity with the people of the Horn of Africa and particularly Somalia.

The Secretary-General left Djibouti for Mogadishu, Somalia, in the morning of Wednesday, 29 October.