The Secretary-General met today in Mexico City with Ms. Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, before the opening session of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation.

The Secretary-General congratulated the Government of the Netherlands for the successful organization of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.

The Secretary-General and Minister Ploumen exchanged views on the way forward for the Geneva process on Syria, as well as on the recent developments in Ukraine.

They also discussed the global consultations on the post-2015 development agenda. The Secretary-General said that the Netherlands were leading by example regarding official development assistance.

He also expressed concern about the situation in the Central African Republic and the need for strong support from the international community.