U.N. Secretary-General to Washington this week

Posted By Laura Rozen Sunday, March 8, 2009 - 2:22 PM Share

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is making the rounds in Washington this week, sources tell The Cable. An invite from Sen. John Kerry initially spurred his trip down -- sort of a second "introduction to Washington" type of trip for the U.N. chief, who was supported for the job by the Bush administration.

Ban Ki-moon pushed hard subsequently for a personal meeting with Obama, which was granted. He's also meeting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Senate Foreign Relations Committee members also have a private, members-only coffee scheduled with the U.N. chief. Issues on the agenda are expected to include Iran, climate change, Sudan/Bashir/ICC peacekeeping and human rights council/Durban Review.

Ban Ki-moon had strong Bush administration support that catapulted him to the SG position, a Hill source notes, "partially because the Bush administration viewed him as a 'do no harm' type of leader who would be more amendable to Washington demands than the increasingly independent Kofi Annan."

UPDATE: NSC spokesman Mike Hammer writes, "President Obama will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon at the White House on Tuesday, March 10. It will be their first meeting since the president took office. The president looks forward to discussing with the Secretary-General the vital role of the United Nations in addressing peace and security issues including: climate change, global poverty, U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, and nuclear nonproliferation. This will also be an opportunity for the Secretary General and the President to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan."

U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice announced the visit on Friday and will be participating in the meeting with the U.N. secretary-general and President Obama.

The U.N. chief is also scheduled to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning, and with VP Biden (currently en route to Brussels to consult with NATO about the U.S. Afghanistan-Pakistan policy reviews) Wednesday afternoon.