Activities of Secretary-General in Lebanon, Including Stopover in Turkey, 23-26 March

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew on Wednesday, 23 March, from New York to Beirut, Lebanon, the first leg of a joint visit to the Middle East and North Africa region with Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, and Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, President of the Islamic Development Bank.

On his way to Beirut, where he arrived on Thursday, 24 March, the Secretary-General stopped in Istanbul, where he had a breakfast with the city’s Mayor, Kadir Topbaş.

Once in Lebanon, he left the capital for a visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, where he met with the Mission’s leadership.

Back in Beirut, the Secretary-General met with Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, at the Speaker’s Residence, and then with Tammam Salam, President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon.  In a joint press encounter with Mr. Salam, Dr. Kim and Mr. Ali, he stressed the urgency for the country to elect a President.

Following that event, the Secretary-General met with the Lebanese Armed Forces, UNIFIL and the International Support Group for Lebanon at the Ministry of Defence.  In a statement to the press, he reiterated the need for the international community to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.

In the evening, he attended, along with Madam Ban, Dr. Kim and Mr. Ali, a dinner hosted by Tammam Salam at Grand Sérail.

The following day, Friday, 25 March, the Secretary-General flew to Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, for a visit to the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared.  He then visited the Qobbeh Social Development Centre, which assists vulnerable Lebanese people.  He also met with two Syrian refugee families in the Hay el Tanak informal settlement.

Back in Beirut, the Secretary-General met with Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai at the Maronite Archdiocese of Beirut in Achrafieh, with whom he discussed the current political situation in the country.

He then flew to the Beka’a Valley for a visit to an informal tented settlement of Syrian refugees. He was received there by one of the families living in the camp, accompanied by Madam Ban.

In the early evening, in Beirut, the Secretary-General held a joint press conference with Dr. Kim and Mr. Ali, during which he stressed that the United Nations and the World Bank are not settling Syrian refugees permanently in Lebanon, but are helping them settle temporarily until they feel they can return safely to their home country.

On the morning of Saturday, 26 March, the Secretary-General left Beirut for Baghdad, Iraq.