On Sunday, 18 January, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled from Beirut, Lebanon, to Damascus, capital of Syria.  He was greeted at the airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beirut from Ankara late in the evening of Friday, 16 January.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew from Tel Aviv to Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Friday afternoon, 16 January.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Tel Aviv from Amman in the early morning of Thursday, 15 January.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Amman, Jordan from Cairo, Egypt, in the afternoon of Wednesday, 14 January.

In January 2009, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set off on a mission to the Middle East that was intended to send a simple and unmistakable message about the crisis in Gaza and southern Israel:  that the fighting must stop, and that Security Council resolution 1860 must be fully respected and implemented.  He visited and met with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait.

SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES SPAIN’S ‘GENEROSITY AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP’

AT CEREMONY FOR NEW VALENCIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a signing ceremony for a new United Nations communications infrastructure, in Madrid, 28 January:

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF BOLIVIA ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM,

EXHORTS POLITICAL LEADERS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR PROSPEROUS, INCLUSIVE FUTURE

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT MADRID CEREMONY, SALUTES COURAGE OF SPANISH PEACEKEEPERS,

SAYS SACRIFICES IN 20 YEARS OF SERVICE MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

CONTINUING HUNGER ‘DEEP STAIN ON OUR WORLD’, BUT WEALTH, KNOW-HOW EXIST ‘TO REMOVE

IT –- FOREVER’, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HIGH-LEVEL MADRID MEETING