Activities of Secretary-General in France, 28 April–1 May
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Madam Ban Soon-taek arrived in Paris from Rome on Tuesday afternoon, 28 April.
His first appointment was a meeting with Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He then addressed an extraordinary meeting of OECD Ambassadors. Ban Ki-moon was the first United Nations Secretary-General in the history of the OECD to address an extraordinary meeting of the organization. (See Press Release SG/SM/16715.)
Later that afternoon, he chaired a meeting of his Global Education First Initiative, led by his Special Envoy Gordon Brown, and then he participated in a ceremony marking the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
On Wednesday, Mr. Ban opened the formal session of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) meeting, hosted by UNESCO. CEB brings together the heads of organizations across the United Nations system.
He then participated in a conversation with students at the Institut des Sciences Politiques de Paris, known as Sciences Po. He encouraged the students to speak up and claim their future, saying that they are part of the largest generation of youth in history and are connected, global citizens who can shape our future. The Secretary-General shared with the students his strong focus on climate change in the build-up to the Paris conference in December. He pushed the students to become global citizens with a global vision and compassionate leadership. The event was moderated by Ghassan Salame, a former adviser to the United Nations. (See Press Release SG/SM/16723.)
Before addressing the students, the Secretary-General met with the Director of Sciences Po, Frederic Mion.
He then returned to UNESCO headquarters for the afternoon session of the Chief Executives Board. He also participated, along with Director-General Irina Bokova, in a ceremony designating CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador focusing on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.
On the same day, the Secretary-General named Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety. (See Press Release SG/A/1565.)
That evening, the Secretary-General had a bilateral meeting with President François Hollande of France, after which they spoke to reporters. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, along with other senior French officials, also participated in the bilateral meeting.
That evening, President Hollande hosted a dinner for the Secretary-General and the members of the Chief Executives Board.
On Thursday, the Secretary-General hosted a working breakfast meeting for certain agency heads to focus on the Financing for Development Conference, to be held in Addis Ababa in the summer of 2015. He also met with Philippe Douste-Blazy, his Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development. The Secretary-General then chaired a private session of the Chief Executives Board.
The Secretary-General and the members of CEB attended a working lunch hosted for them by French Foreign Minister Fabius. The discussions at the lunch, which also included a number of chief executive officers of French companies, focused on climate change and the forthcoming Conference of Parties meeting in Paris in December 2015. The last session of the Chief Executives Board focused on new global threats.
Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, before attending UNESCO’s International Jazz Day celebrations. (See Press Release SG/SM/16726.)
The Secretary-General returned to New York on Friday, 1 May.