UN Secretary-General in Finland: No one can deal with global crises alone

Climate issues, the nuclear detonation by North Korea and economic crisis were discussed when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife were on an official visit to Finland on 25-27 May 2009 at the invitation of President of the Republic Tarja Halonen. According to her, Secretary-General’s visit to Finland has been “a real encouragement for us. Finland has always been very active in order to support the UN”. Watch a video recording of the joint press conference of the visit. “We are now experiencing many regional and global challenges. When you are dealing with global challenges like economical crisis, climate change and food security – all these require strong participation and cooperation of all the member states”, Secretary-General Ban said at the joint press conference on Tuesday, 26 May. “No one country, no single individual or group of countries can deal with these crises alone”.

President Tarja Halonen and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

President Halonen said that global challenges, like economic crisis, are very seldom so dramatic, that they will steal the main headline in the evening news. But their consequences will. “Everybody who said that it was unexpected, that the international financial architecture has these weaknesses, is not telling the truth. Now when we have this crisis, we see very easily that the reform work should have been done already earlier”. President Halonen emphasized her wish, that the United Nations could have a proper role in solving the crisis.

Seal the deal

“Recently I have launched a slogan ‘Seal the deal’ and this is what we are now wearing”, Secretary-General Ban said referring to badges he and President Halonen weared. The UN campaign was launched to promote action on climate change and seal the climate deal in UN climate Change Conference next December in Copenhagen.

The Secretary-General said that he was most deeply disturbed that North Koreans had made another nuclear test, in violation of the UN Security Council resolution 1718. “I sincerely hope that DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] will return to the dialogue table between South and North Korea. To remain a responsible member of the international community is to return to the dialogue table”.

President Halonen and Secretary-General Ban also discussed the UN's crisis management and peacekeeping operations and timely regional questions such as Afghanistan and the Middle East. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also addressed Parliament and met with Speaker Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. In the evening, president Halonen hosted a dinner in his honour at the Presidential Palace

On Wednesday, 27 May, Secretary-General Ban met with President Martti Ahtisaari and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen. The programme also included a meeting with NGOs and a visit to the UNU-WIDER Institute.

This was Secretary-General Ban's first official visit to Finland in his present post. He has visited Finland in the past as Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea during a state visit by the President of that country and in connection with the ASEM and EU-Korea summits in 2006.

Speech by President Halonen at the state banquet