Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 18-19 February
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening, 18 February, to attend the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, hosted by the United States Government.
Upon arrival, the Secretary-General attended a reception hosted by the United States Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, at the United States Department of State.
On Thursday, 19 January, the Secretary-General held meetings with Nabil El-Araby, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States and his senior advisers, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman. They discussed regional issues, including the situations in Gaza, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
The Secretary-General then delivered remarks at the opening of the ministerial segment of the Summit. Calling violent extremism a profound challenge that may be the greatest test our human family faces in the twenty-first century, he urged the international community to pull together its collective wisdom and best practices to defeat the threat it poses. (See Press Release SG/SM/16537.)
He added that the United Nations system stands ready to work on a comprehensive multi-stakeholder plan of action to address the issue, and that together with the President of the General Assembly and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, he will convene a special event in the coming months that will bring together faith leaders from all around the world to promote mutual understanding and reconciliation.
On Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General held meetings with Iyad Ameen Madani, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as with Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad and Foreign Minister Abdul Hassan Mahmood Ali of Bangladesh.
That afternoon, he also discussed the situation in Libya with Mr. Kerry; the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Hassan Shokry Selim.
Following a meeting at the Brookings Institute with its President, Strobe Talbott, the Secretary-General concluded his day with an interview with Judy Woodruff from NewsHour at the Public Broadcasting Services’ studio in Arlington, Virginia.
He also had a photo opportunity with interns from the United Nations Information Centre in Washington, D.C.
The Secretary-General arrived back in New York on the evening of 19 February.