Activities of Secretary-General in Switzerland, 22-24 January
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Davos, Switzerland, shortly after noon on Thursday, 22 January, to attend the World Economic Forum.
He first spoke by telephone with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and they conferred on the situation in Western Sahara.
The Secretary-General was then interviewed by CNN's Richard Quest on the rooftop of the Congress Centre, where the World Economic Forum is held. They discussed the crises in Ukraine and Yemen, as well as the United Nations focus on sustainable development and climate change in 2015.
The Secretary-General met with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and then with European Parliament President Martin Schultz, with whom he discussed two key UN goals for 2015: shaping a post-2015 sustainable development agenda and reaching a meaningful, universal agreement on climate change in Paris in December.
His last event on Thursday was a dinner to honour Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan as a World Food Programme (WFP) Hunger Hero.
“Princess Haya, we are profoundly grateful for all that you have been doing to feed the hungry, assist the most vulnerable children, women, and care for the world's refugees,” the Secretary-General said before presenting her the award. “The work of Your Royal Highness epitomizes the spirit of partnership the world needs.” (See Press Release SG/SM/16479.)
The following morning, Friday, 23 January, the Secretary-General participated in a press conference to launch the “Impact 10X10X10” initiative, which aims to galvanize momentum to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, part of the HeForShe campaign.
He stressed that he stands for equality for the world’s women, and that he is joined by people around the world who understand that this is everyone’s concern.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General expressed his condolences following the passing of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. He paid tribute to King Abdullah’s efforts to address regional and international challenges at a time of turmoil and rapid change and to promote dialogue among the world's faiths, as well as his gratitude for the King’s generous humanitarian and development support for people across the Arab region and wider world.
The Secretary-General then took part in a gathering of Millennium Development Goal advocates in an event moderated by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. Other participants included Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
The Secretary-General urged leaders to demonstrate political leadership and to mobilize financial and technological resources to promote sustainable development and address climate change. (See Press Release SG/SM/16483.)
His next engagement was a World Economic Forum plenary session, moderated by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, on the theme “Tackling Climate, Development and Growth”. Other participants were Rwandan President Paul Kagame, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman and the 2001 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Michael Spence.
The Secretary-General stressed that “we are the first generation that can end poverty, and the last generation that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” adding that “future generations will judge us harshly if we fail in upholding our moral and historical responsibilities”. (See Press Release SG/SM/16482.)
He then attended a lunch event bringing together the leaders of Governments, the private sector and civil society attending the World Economic Forum on the theme “Defining the Imperatives for 2015”.
Following a meeting with Gordon Brown, his Special Envoy for Global Education, the Secretary-General opened a meeting of CEOs attending the Forum to galvanize action on climate change.
He then met with Marco Lambertini, Director-General of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, before participating in a meeting with leaders from the financial sector, in which he emphasized the need for their efforts to mobilize climate financing, which he said were crucial to reaching a universal and meaningful agreement in Paris in December.
The Secretary-General participated in a live interview with Karin Giannone of the BBC, in which he recalled his last meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. The interview also touched upon the situation in Ukraine and his priorities for the year 2015.
His day ended with a United Nations Global Compact-supported dinner on the theme “Making 2015 a Historic Year”, in which he underlined that “the world needs companies and investors everywhere to do their part in meeting the needs of people today while transforming our prospects for tomorrow.”
He also noted, “I am convinced this remains, above all, an era of opportunity. The entrepreneurs I have met across the world continue to innovate — and inspire others to do the same.” (See Press Release SG/SM/16491.)
The Secretary-General began his last morning in Davos, Saturday, 24 January, by meeting with Professor Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman.
He then met with Christian Paradis, Minister for International Development of Canada, thanking the country for its leadership in maternal, newborn and child health, as well as encouraging its continued constructive role in climate change negotiations ahead of the December conference in Paris.
Before departing Davos, the Secretary-General’s last engagement was a meeting with Yun Byung-se, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea. The Secretary-General reiterated his readiness to support renewed engagement and dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on unification issues, expressing his wish to see a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations in 2015.
The Secretary-General arrived back in New York on Saturday evening.