Head of French-speaking bloc to hold talks with Secretary-General Ban

Climate change, cultural diversity, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and several ongoing crises in African countries are expected to top the agenda tomorrow when the head of the organization of the world’s French-speaking countries holds talks with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Abdou Diouf, the Secretary-General of La Francophonie and a former Senegalese president, will be on an official visit to UN Headquarters in New York at the invitation of Mr. Ban, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today.

More than half of all UN Member States hold either full-fledged or observer-status membership of La Francophonie, which signed a cooperation agreement with the UN in October 2006.

Mr. Ban and Mr. Diouf are expected to discuss crisis situations in various French-speaking countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), as well as joint UN-Francophonie peace projects and the grouping’s support of UN conflict resolution initiatives.

Ms. Montas said the two men are also likely to discuss the MDGs, climate change, the Alliance of Civilizations initiative and public advocacy in favour of the Convention on Cultural Diversity.