Ban to attend Afghanistan meeting in Germany, climate change gathering in South Africa

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Bonn this weekend to attend an international conference on Afghanistan hosted by the German Government, before heading to South Africa for the opening of the high-level segment of the United Nations conference on climate change.

In Bonn, Mr. Ban will confer with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who will chair the International Afghanistan Conference. He will also meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and several foreign ministers who will attend the conference.

At the 17th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) in Durban, South Africa, Mr. Ban will meet with President Jacob Zuma and delegates from other governments.

He will also attend a number of events organized on the margins of the Conference focusing on long-term climate financing for developing countries and international forest protection. The Secretary-General will also launch the ‘Momentum for Change’ initiative to show cooperation between public and private sectors in combating climate change.