The Secretary-General met today with H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias, who underscored Spain´s continuing strong commitment to multilateralism and to the United Nations. The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for Spain’s support to UN efforts in all three pillars of its work, including its contributions to peacekeeping in Haiti and Lebanon, human rights and development efforts.

The Secretary-General and H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias discussed the importance of accelerating efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They noted that the following day, 5 April, would mark the beginning of a countdown towards achieving the MDGs by the 2015 deadline, and that while significant progress has been made, much more needed to be done. They further discussed the importance of the on-going work to define a comprehensive post-2015 development agenda.

Finally, the Secretary-General and H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias exchanged views on recent developments related to the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea.