Activities of Secretary-General in Kenya, 4-5 September

On Monday, 4 September, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Nairobi from New York in the early afternoon.  Later that day, he met with the President of Kenya, William Ruto, at the Kenya International Conference Centre.  He then had a call with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud.

That afternoon, he also held an internal meeting with his UN envoys in the region.  These included:  the Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes; the Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh; the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Huang Xia; and the Director General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Zainab Hawa Bangura.  That evening, the Secretary-General met with the African Union Chairperson, Moussa Faki.

The next day, the Secretary-General took part in the high-level opening of the Africa Climate Summit.  He said that an injustice burns at the heart of the climate crisis and its flame is scorching hopes and possibilities here in Africa.  He underscored that the continent accounts for less than 4 per cent of global emissions, and yet, it suffers some of the worst effects of rising global temperatures.  The Secretary-General also made a strong appeal for large emitters — namely the Group of 20 countries that are meeting in Delhi this week — to commit to reaching net-zero emissions as close as possible to 2040.  “Assume your responsibilities,” he told them. 

The Secretary-General also said we must all work together for Africa to become a renewable energy super-Power.  “Africa can be at the heart of a renewable future,” he said.  (See Press Release SG/SM/21925.)

Following the opening, the Secretary-General held a press encounter in which he reiterated his call to reform the outdated, unfair and dysfunctional global financial system.  He then met with the Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, and then with the President of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sultan al Jaber.  This was followed by a meeting with the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, and then with the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo.

He then left for the airport to continue his travels to Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the ASEAN-UN Summit.