MANILA, Philippines - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Philippines last Dec. 20 to 22 to assess firsthand the devastation caused by typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and demonstrate the UN’s firm resolve to help the affected communities in the Visayas and the Filipino people. This is the Secretary-General’s second visit to the country.
Ban made a courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino III and met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, other Cabinet Secretaries and senior government representatives. He travelled to Tacloban and visited communities, which were left devastated by the typhoon.
Del Rosario hosted a dinner in honor of the UN Secretary-General at his garden unit at the Pacific Plaza Towers in Global City, Fort Bonifacio.
In a joint press conference of Del Rosario and Ban at The Peninsula Manila, the secretary-general expressed the UN’s full support to the Philippine government’s recovery and reconstruction plan for the affected areas.
Ban’s visit marks the continuing cooperation between the Philippine government and the United Nations.