In the last week of May, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to UNU-WIDER in Helsinki as part of his first official mission to Finland. The Secretary-General was greeted by UNU-WIDER Deputy Director and Officer-in-Charge Professor Augustin Fosu, and then invited to sign the guest book.

After greeting members of the UNU-WIDER staff, the Secretary-General was formally welcomed by Prof. Fosu, who said “We are particularly grateful for your visit, given the gravity of the challenges that face you and the UN, especially at this moment in time.”

Ban Ki-moon signs the guest book. Photo(s) by Alexander Zach.

Following a briefing on the work of UNU-WIDER, the Secretary-General expressed his thanks and pointed out that the institute has a key role to play in the current global turndown. “As this institute is more interested in economic development research, I think your analysis and contribution to the current global economic situation will be extremely valuable,” he said.

Secretary-General Ban added that he was looking to research institutes like UNU-WIDER to use their analytical capacity to promote understanding of the multitude of crises facing the world and to stimulate debate on how to assist the poorest and most vulnerable people, particularly in Africa. “All these global threats are interconnected”, he said. “So if we are wise enough and smart enough, and if we can pull out the threads that are connecting these crises, then we can find solutions to all. Solutions to one can bring solutions to all the crises.”

During his two-day stay in Helsinki the UN Secretary General met with Finnish President Tarja Halonen as well as Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Vayrynen. he also addressed the Finnish Parliament and met with former President and Nobel laureate, Martti Ahtisaari.

Ban Ki-moon, from the Republic of Korea, is the eighth head of the UN.