Deputy Secretary-General heads to Japan for week-long official visit

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro heads to Japan this weekend for a week-long visit that will focus on issues ranging from climate change to human security and economic growth.

On Monday in Hiroshima, Ms. Migiro is scheduled to address the Third Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children and to participate in an inter-faith prayer for peace, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters today.

The Deputy Secretary-General is expected to speak on Thursday in Yokohama before the plenary of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development, which this year is examining ways to boost economic growth, ensure human security and tackle climate change and other environmental issues.

Ms. Migiro is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the conference with both Japanese and African officials, with progress far towards the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) likely to be high on the agenda.

After the conference she will hold a joint press conference with UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.