Readout of the Secretary-General's meets with senior Danish Government leaders

The Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of Denmark, H.E. Ms. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, in Copenhagen and congratulated her on her recent election as the first woman in that post. He thanked her for Denmark's staunch support for the United Nations and commitment to a wide range of global issues. They later held a joint press conference at which they gave details of their wide-ranging discussions.

The Secretary-General also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, H.E. Mr. Villy Søvndal, and the Minister for Development Cooperation, H.E. Mr. Christian Friis Bach. They exchanged views on a number of issues of mutual concern to Denmark and the UN. Topics included sustainable development and the critical importance of the forthcoming Rio+20 conference in 2012 in that regard. They also reviewed recent events in the Middle East and North Africa, Denmark's forthcoming EU presidency, the Secretary-General's climate change agenda, and the international financial and economic crisis.

In a meeting with the Minister of Defence of Denmark, H.E. Mr. Nick Hækkerup, the Secretary-General discussed Danish contributions to UN peacekeeping, for which the Secretary-General expressed his deep appreciation. They also discussed the importance of fulfilling the UN's peacekeeping mandates despite a climate of economic austerity.

In his meeting with H.E. Mr. Martin Lidegaard, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Buildings of Denmark, the Secretary-General discussed Denmark's ambitious renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission targets as well as the UNFCCC Conference in Durban, South Africa, in December.