Readout of the Secretary-General's meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia
Readouts | Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General
The Secretary-General met today in Riyadh with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia. Also in attendance were H.R.H. Mohamed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia, and H.R.H. Mohammad Bin Salman Al-Saud, Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia, as well as H.E. Mr. Adel Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.
The Secretary-General congratulated the King on the successful hosting of the Fourth Summit of Arab and South American countries.
On the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he conveyed his hope that Saudi Arabia would take strong ownership of the process and play a leading role. He assured His Majesty that the UN would work closely with his country to support these goals.
The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of Saudi leadership in the process leading to the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework on the Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris later this month. The Secretary-General appreciated the reassurances he received from the King and the Foreign Minister regarding Saudi Arabia's resolve to work towards a successful agreement.
The Secretary-General commended Saudi Arabia 's support for UN efforts in the area of counter-terrorism.
The Secretary-General and His Majesty also discussed the situations in Syria and Yemen and agreed on the need for an end to these two conflicts. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the next meeting in Vienna on Syria would devise a clear set of next steps in the political process.
On Yemen, he hoped that all sides to the conflict would take extreme care not to cause civilian casualties and that inter-Yemeni talks would take place this month. The Secretary-General also encouraged Saudi Arabia to further work closely with his respective Special Envoys for Syria and Yemen.
The two leaders also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need for both parties to resume negotiations in order to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace.