Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 27-29 June

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Washington, D.C., from New York on Tuesday morning, 27 June.

Immediately upon his arrival, the Secretary-General met with members of the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.  The Secretary-General briefed the members on his reform agenda and United Nations cooperation with the United States.

The Secretary-General then met with members of the United States House of Representatives Freedom Caucus.  They discussed United Nations reform, with a focus on the Organization’s budget.  Following this, the Secretary-General met with House Foreign Affairs Committee member Christopher Smith, and continued from there to a meeting with the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.  These conversations covered United Nations reform, as well as United States-United Nations cooperation on global issues.

The Secretary-General then moved to the Senate side of the United States Capitol, seeing members of the Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss United Nations reform and the Organization’s budget.

From there, the Secretary-General travelled to the United States Department of State for a meeting with the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.  He then returned to the United States Capitol to meet with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  This meeting covered United Nations reform and global issues.

The Secretary-General completed his day at the residence of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States, where he met with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Sabah and Salem al-Sabah of Kuwait and attended a dinner in his honour.

On Wednesday, 28 June, the Secretary-General began his day by meeting the Ranking Democratic Member of the House of Representatives State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Nita Lowey to discuss the United Nations reform agenda.

The Secretary-General then met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan.  The two discussed United Nations reform efforts and United States-United Nations relations.

From the meetings at the United States Capitol, the Secretary-General travelled to a lunch meeting with United States Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell.

Following the lunch, the Secretary-General moved to the United States Department of State and met with the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.  The Secretary-General and the Secretary discussed United States-United Nations relations, as well as global situations of mutual concern.

The Secretary-General then returned to Capitol Hill for a meeting with the Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Rodney Frelinghuysen, during which he and the Chairman discussed United Nations reform and United States contributions to the Organization’s budget.

The Secretary-General then moved to the Senate side of the Capitol to meet with Senators Todd Young and Jeff Merkley, members of the Foreign Relations Committee.  This discussion included United Nations reform, United Nations peacekeeping operations and issues of global concern.

In his final meeting of the day, the Secretary-General discussed United Nations reform and Human Rights Council matters with Senators Marco Rubio, Christopher Coons, Kirsten Gillibrand and Robert Casey.

On Thursday, 29 June, the Secretary-General began the day at the United States Department of State, meeting with Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan.  The two discussed United States-United Nations relations, United Nations reform and global issues of mutual concern.

The Secretary-General then met with the Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.  The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister discussed Qatar-United Nations cooperation and the situation in the Gulf region.

The Secretary-General finished his schedule of meetings in Washington with a return to Capitol Hill, seeing Hal Rogers, the Chairman of the House of Representatives State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Secretary-General departed Washington, D.C., for Geneva on Thursday evening, 29 June.