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| Ban meets Biden, discusses Pakistan, Sri Lanka, NKorea |
| Dharam Shourie/PTI / United Nations Jun 06, 2009, 11:54 IST |
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The humanitarian crisis in Pakistan, the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and climate change figured prominently in UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's talks with US Vice President Joseph Biden, as he visited Washington. Ban wrapped up a visit to Washington, DC, yesterday during which he met US Energy Secretary Steven Chu to discuss international cooperation to deal with climate change, including mitigation efforts in developed countries and greater collaboration with poorer nations, his spokesman said.
Ban discussed with Biden the prevailing situation in Pakistan, where close to three million people have been displaced due to the anti-Taliban offensive, the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, besides the conditions in Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and global warming.
The two also discussed US financial support for the United Nations, "a topic on which the Vice-President was supportive," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
While in the US capital, Ban attended a meeting hosted by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, which drew a bi-partisan group of senators.
At the event, he spoke of the need for US leadership on climate change, and topics discussed ranged from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region to Iran.
The Secretary-General also discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and climate change, over telephone with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.
During their conversation, Ban re-affirmed his conviction of the need to resume dialogue, including the Six-Party Talks, which involve China, North Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the US.
"The Secretary-General stressed the importance of showing leadership by setting an ambitious mid-term emissions reduction target for his country for 2020," Haq said.
Japan has said that it will announce its mid-term emissions reduction targets shortly.
"The Secretary-General welcomes Japan's leading role in setting an ambitious domestic target, as it could well influence the targets set by other countries and generate critically needed positive momentum in the UN climate change talks," the latest round of which is under way in Bonn, Germany, Haq said.
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