Activities of Secretary-General in Uzbekistan, 9-10 June

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from Astana, Kazakhstan, on the evening of Friday, 9 June.

On Saturday morning, he met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.  He then visited a People’s Reception Office in Samarkand, and met with community leaders.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General flew to Muynak, a village on the shores on what used to be the Aral Sea.  He said that visiting the Aral Sea and seeing what was the fourth largest inland sea in the world almost dead has caused a tremendous shock, calling it probably the biggest ecological catastrophe of our time.  (See Press Release SG/SM/18565.)

The Secretary-General also visited the Nukus Museum of Art before leaving Uzbekistan for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he arrived in the evening.