Madam Vice President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Buenos dias!

I want to thank the government of Spain for its generous offer to host a new United Nations logistics base here in Valencia

I welcome the successful conclusion of negotiations the text of the agreement on the use of the premises. This agreement and other administrative agreements will need to be duly considered and approved by the UN General Assembly and the Government of Spain.

I will continue my efforts to make this facility a reality. Once realized, such a facility will provide critical information and technology infrastructure, complementing our existing base at Brindisi in Italy, to enable United Nations operations to function efficiently and safely around the world.

I understand the Valencia site will be designed to provide communications services to UN missions in the field as well as UN agencies, funds and programmes. Having a second telecommunication facility will mitigate the risk in case of catastrophic failure and thus ensure our ability to keep communications between our worldwide operations flowing in a safe and secure manner.

This base will be yet another manifestation of your government's support of the United Nations and its operations. In fact, I have just come back from Lebanon, where Spanish soldiers serve under the UN flag. Meanwhile I am grateful to the Spanish government for their generous help and gracious hospitality in facilitating my programme during my current visit to this region.

Thank you very much.