On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of Andorra’s membership in the United Nations, the Secretary-General met today with key officials from the Principality.

In his meeting with H.E. Mr. Antoni Marti, Prime Minister of Andorra and H.E. Mr. Gilbert Saboya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, they discussed Andorra´s emerging role in international affairs, highlighting the Principality´s contributions to the work of the United Nations as well as its current Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, during which it has prioritized the themes of education for democratic citizenship and human rights. The Secretary-General commended Andorra for its recent efforts to open up the economy, which the Prime Minister characterized as critical for stimulating both economic growth and social cohesion. They also discussed Andorra´s prioritization of education as well as the important work that needs to be undertaken at the international level for successful implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and the preparation of a post-2015 development framework.

In his meeting with H.E. Mr. Vicenç Mateu Zamora, President of the Parliament of Andorra, they discussed the country´s continuing positive evolution since joining the United Nations as well as the critical role of parliamentarians in a democracy. The Secretary-General highlighted Andorra´s important achievement in reaching gender parity in parliamentary representation, as 50% of Andorra´s legislators are women. He urged parliamentarians in Andorra and everywhere to engage fully in global efforts pertaining to fulfilment of the MDGs and to the development of new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Secretary-General also met with H.E. Monsignor Joan-Enric Vives i Sicilia, the Co-prince of Andorra, and Mr. Pascal Escande, Representative of the Co-prince from France, H.E. François Hollande, with whom he discussed the situation of human rights and the key role of the UN Human Rights Council, the situation in Syria and Andorra´s role in the international community. The two co-princes together act as Head of State of the Principality.