MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ban Ki-moon begins South American trip in Argentina

Taiana greets Ban-Ki moon and asks him not to forget the Malvinas issue

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived Wednesday in Argentina the first stop of his visit to three South American countries that will see him travel from the Amazon basin to Antarctica.

Ban Ki-moon's first interview was with Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Taiana with whom they talked basically about global climate change, the coming summit in Indonesia and Argentina's strong commitment and contribution to United Nations. Another issue which was brought up by Taiana was "the strong Argentine interest in the resumption of Mr Ban Ki-moon's good offices before the United Kingdom regarding the Malvinas issue". Earlier this week in an interview with the Argentine press Mr Ban Ki-moon said he would offer to mediate in the dispute between Argentina and Britain over the Falklands/Malvinas islands, but neither side had yet responded. The UN Secretary General also made a formal visit to the Argentine Congress where he met the presidents of both Houses and praised Argentina's close association with the organization and the country's ratification of the Human Rights Convention. Ban Ki-moon said he had asked Taiana for Argentina's financial and resources support in the global warming issue for which mankind has the necessary knowledge and resources but "lacks political will". This evening Mr Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to meet with President Nestor Kirchner and the First Lady and elected president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. On Thursday from Buenos Aires the US Secretary General flies to Chile to attend the Ibero-American summit and meet with the country's leaders. He will also head to Punta Arenas, in southern Chile, and Antarctica to learn more about climate change – an issue Mr. Ban has identified as one of his priority issues. In Brazil Mr. Ban will learn more about Brazil's efforts to confront climate change when he visits an ethanol plant near Sao Paulo, and Tapajós National Forest in the country's Amazon region. The Secretary-General is also scheduled to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Mr. Ban described Argentina, Chile and Brazil as politically and economically important members of the UN that also play a key role in efforts to address climate change issues After his visit to Latin America, Mr. Ban will travel to Tunisia, where he will attend an international counter-terrorism conference, organized by the UN, the Tunisian Government and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. From there, he heads to Valencia, Spain, to participate in launching the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "This is going to be a very hectic, 12-day-long trip, but it will be, I am sure, very rewarding," Mr. Ban told reporters prior to his departure from New York.