Europe

Ladies and gentlemen good morning, Guten Morgen. Mr. Minister, and Mr. President-elect, it is a great honour for me to visit Austria again, my second home. This may be my last visit to Austria as Secretary-General but in fact, this is going to be my last ever visit to any country, to any Member State.

City Councillor Omar Al-Rawi, Ambassador Dorothea Auer, Ms. Katha Schinkinger and Mr. Christian Kemmler, Distinguished staff of Habibi&Hawara restaurant, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Es freut mich sehr, hier im Habibi & Hawara Restaurant zu sein.  [I am very pleased to be here in the Habibi & Hawara restaurant.]
 

Thank you Madame Foreign Minister, Góðan daginn. 

It is a great pleasure to visit Iceland for the [second] time. I am happy to see former President Grimsson who is now taking another very important leadership role as a former President and also President of this Arctic [Circle].

Since I have said enough about climate change [in my speech], I will stop here but as she [the Foreign Minister] said – I don’t want to repeat the subjects we have been discussing – but we are in full agreement. My only ambitious demand is that Iceland should do much more.

I am pleased to join you to mark the 30th anniversary of the landmark Reagan-Gorbachev Summit.

That meeting here in Reykjavik was in many ways a turning point in global strategic relations.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev came to Reykjavik with different visions for stability.

Yet over the course of two days, they came close to an audacious plan for the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

General Secretary Gorbachev called it a “breakthrough, which allowed us for the first time to look over the horizon.”

It is an honour to receive this Climate Sustainability Award. I accept it on behalf of the many people in and beyond the United Nations who have been part of the very active climate diplomacy over the past several years that produced the historic Paris Agreement. I am gratified that we worked together to produce something that can make our world safer and more sustainable, especially for future generations.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be back in Iceland.

I am delighted to be once more in Germany, particularly in this beautiful City of Hamburg. I thank you for this prestigious award.

It is truly an honour to be recognized alongside so many distinguished pioneers of sustainability.

I gratefully accept this award on behalf of hardworking United Nations staff.

The organization I am proud to serve has worked for decades to promote the principles and practices of sustainable social, economic and environmental development.

This is, quite simply, an imperative for people, planet, peace and prosperity.