SG/T/3064

Activities of Secretary-General in Malta, 26-28 November

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew on Thursday, 26 November, from New York to Valletta, Malta, for a special session on climate change of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Upon arrival in Malta on Friday, 27 November, the Secretary-General had an audience with Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, whom he briefed about the current status of negotiations on climate change, ahead of the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris.

He then met with Prime Minister David Cameron, with whom he discussed the importance of reaching an ambitious and universal agreement on climate change, as well as the upcoming fourth Pledging Conference for Syria, scheduled for London in early February.

Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General briefed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on climate change during a special session on the subject.  In a joint press conference following this session, alongside President François Hollande of France, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, he said that with its diversity, the Commonwealth was a microcosm of the international community.  He added that all the stars seem to be aligning in the same direction towards an ambitious and universal agreement on climate change, and urged leaders to make this world better and environmentally sustainable.

Following that session, he attended a banquet given by Queen Elizabeth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government.

On Saturday, 28 November, the Secretary-General participated in a youth breakfast of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, during which he stressed that the voices and the choices of young people were crucial in helping to reach a low-carbon future.

He then went to the University of Malta, where he received the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Medal for his outstanding actions in favour of global oceans.

In Valletta, the Secretary-General also participated in a Polio Eradication event.  Even as a polio-free world is within reach, he stressed that we must stay vigilant and identified at least three keys to success: the full engagement of all sectors of society, the necessity to allow safe passage for health workers everywhere and the need to fill funding gaps.  (See Press Release SG/SM/17366.)

Before leaving Malta, he visited the fortified city of Mdina and met with Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta.  He thanked Malta for having been the first country, in 1988, to bring the issue of climate change before the United Nations General Assembly.

The Secretary-General then left the island for Paris, for the opening of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.

For information media. Not an official record.