Secretary-General departs for Sweden to attend Iraq Compact meeting

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading today to Sweden to attend the annual review conference of the Iraq Compact, the five-year plan to promote peace and development in the violence-wracked nation.

Participants at tomorrow’s meeting in Uppsala, to be co-chaired by Mr. Ban and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, are set to review the annual progress report – prepared by Iraq with United Nations assistance – which notes both the positive steps taken so far and the challenges that lay ahead.

The Secretary-General has stressed that the world body remains committed to doing its utmost to support the Iraqi Government and its people under Security Council resolution 1770.

That resolution extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and covers elections, reconciliation, the resolution of disputed boundaries, human rights and humanitarian concerns, as well as UN support for reconstruction and development.

Under the Iraq Compact, the Government will work to meet basic needs, protect the rights of all citizens and ensure the optimal use of the country’s resources for the common good and the country’s international partners are committed to providing financial, technical and political support.

The Conference is expected to end with the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration.

On the sidelines of the event, Mr. Ban is expected to hold several bilateral meetings with the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the United States’ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

During his two-day visit to Sweden, he is also scheduled to meet with the King Carl XVI Gustaf of the Scandinavian nation.