Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 15-16 April
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Washington, D.C., from New York on Friday morning, 15 April, to attend the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
He first attended an event dealing with the development challenges of forced displacement, held at the World Bank Group Headquarters and organized in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
He told the audience that he had been deeply moved by the refugees and internally displaced people he had met during his recent visit to the Middle East with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. The Secretary-General called on leaders across Europe and throughout the world for greater solidarity, not just through relief, but through resettlement and other legal pathways. (See Press Release SG/SM/17670.)
He also underscored that today’s internal displacement and refugee crises are signs of deeper challenges that must be resolved. “From Syria to Afghanistan to South Sudan, people are trapped in a cycle of conflict, violence and poverty,” he stated.
Solving those conflicts, he added, also means addressing the deeper roots of conflict — “insecurity, poor governance, political exclusion, social and economic inequity”. To that end, he said that he would be convening the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul to provide a platform to put a focus on root causes and prevention, to bridge the gap between humanitarian and development assistance and to improve our global response to forced displacement.
That meeting would fuel much-needed momentum for the United Nations Summit on Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants on 19 September.
The Secretary-General then attended the Inaugural Assembly Meeting of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, which brings together multilateral organizations, Governments and the private sector.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General made the point that it is essential that multilateral financial institutions and the private sector provide the policy instruments and resources needed to support the transformation to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy. (See Press Release SG/SM/17671.)
He said that, by putting a price on pollution and providing incentives, we will accelerate a low-carbon pathway. He added that “market prices, market indices and investment portfolios can no longer continue to ignore the growing cost of unsustainable production and consumption behaviours on the health of our planet”.
Later on Friday afternoon, the Secretary-General attended a ministerial pledging session of the International Conference for the New Financing Initiative to Support the Middle East and North Africa Region.
The Secretary-General closed out the day by attending a celebration of the partnership between the World Bank and the United Nations. Mr. Ban noted that he and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim have conveyed a shared message to global leaders and their own staff that peace and development are two sides of the same coin. (See Press Release SG/SM/17672.)
On Saturday, 16 April, the Secretary-General attended the Ministerial Meeting of the Least Developed Countries, hosted by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the World Bank and the ONE Campaign. He noted that unleashing least developed States’ enormous reservoirs of untapped potential can shape an inclusive and sustainable future. (See Press Release SG/SM/17674.)
He then attended the opening meeting of the Infrastructure Forum, held at the International Finance Corporation building. The Secretary-General noted that bridging infrastructure divides will narrow distances in the drive to reach shared development commitments. (See Press Release SG/SM/17675.)
The Secretary-General also met on Saturday with Lou Jiwei, Minister for Finance of China; Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom; and with Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
He was also interviewed that day by Elana Schor, energy reporter for the news magazine Politico.
In the afternoon the Secretary-General attended the Development Committee plenary meeting on forced displacement, at which he said that Governments must work harder to adopt fresh ways to welcome epic waves of refugees fleeing war and hunger. (See Press Release SG/SM/17676.)
The Secretary-General and his delegation returned to New York that evening by train.