The Secretary-General met today with President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania on the margins of the summit in Toronto on maternal, new-born and child health. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the President's leadership on sustainable development issues, in his capacity as a Co-chair of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, in addition to his role in the African Heads of State Climate Committee. The Secretary-General brought up the preparations for the 23 September Climate Summit in New York and invited the President to attend. They agreed on the importance of achieving a binding agreement on climate change. The Secretary-General also underscored the need to accelerate action on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and continue work on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

They also discussed the situation in the Great Lakes Region.  The Secretary-General expressed gratitude for Tanzania’s contribution to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO),including through its participation in the Force Intervention Brigade. They talked about the need to remove the threat posed by the armed groups in the eastern DRC, including the FDLR. They also discussed the situation in Burundi.