Activities of Secretary-General in Tunisia, 28-29 March

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew on Saturday, 28 March, from Amman, Jordan, to Tunis, Tunisia, for a joint visit with Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group.

Upon arrival, the two leaders met with Béji Caïd Essebsi, President of Tunisia.  In a press statement following that meeting, the Secretary-General said that the international community stands with Tunisia as all parts of society work to bring the democratic transition into the areas of economic growth and social progress.

The Secretary-General also met with Mohamed Ennaceur, President of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, before laying a wreath at Bardo Museum, alongside Tunisia’s Minister for Culture, Sonia M’Barek, and Mr. Kim, in honour of the victims of the terrorist attack there in March last year.

The Secretary-General then visited the headquarters of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

In the evening, he and Mr. Kim had a joint meeting with Habib Essid, Prime Minister of Tunisia, followed by an official dinner.

Later that night, the Secretary-General also met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord in Libya, Mousa Al Kony, with whom he discussed the efforts to swiftly establish the Government of National Accord in Tripoli.

On Tuesday, 29 March, the Secretary-General participated in the National Conference on Employment, organized by the Tunisian Government.  In his remarks, he stressed that, without decent work, young men and women face very serious problems of lack of direction and alienation, which can make them vulnerable to extremist views.  (See Press Release SG/SM/17634.)

He then visited the Carthage ruins with Minister M’Barek, followed by a lunch with the National Dialogue Quartet, the 2015 Nobel Prize Laureates.

In a press conference at Tunis International Airport, before departure, the Secretary-General stressed the need to continue supporting Tunisia, both in its socioeconomic efforts and its fight against terrorism.

While in Tunisia, Mr. Ban also met with United Nations staff working in the country.

He left Tunis for Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the high-level meeting on Global Responsibility Sharing for Syrian Refugees.