Activities of Secretary-General in Qatar, 3-5 November
On Monday, 3 November, the Secretary-General arrived in Doha, Qatar, to participate in the Second World Summit for Social Development.
Today, he met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. During the meeting, the Secretary-General thanked Qatar for hosting this landmark event. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister discussed several regional issues, including the situation in Gaza. He thanked the Prime Minister for his decisive engagement for personally facilitating the recent ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. The Secretary-General underlined the need to establish a political horizon towards a negotiated two-State solution.
On Tuesday, 4 November, the Secretary-General spoke to the opening session of the Second World Summit for Social Development. In his remarks , Mr. Guterres warned that, today, we are at a moment of high global uncertainty with crises ongoing in terms of poverty, inequality, and climate.
He saluted the adopted Doha Political Declaration as a "booster shot for development", describing it as a people-centred plan requiring urgent action in four areas: accelerating poverty and inequality reduction, job creation, increased financing for developing countries, and greater social inclusion. The Declaration, Mr. Guterres said, calls for targeted investments, climate finance, and inclusive governance.
The Secretary-General urged Governments and partners to mobilize the political will and resources to realize the Declaration’s ambitious vision for sustainable development. This Summit, he said in closing, is all about hope — hope through collective action that is so desperately needed to continue the journey that we began together 30 years ago in Copenhagen.
The Secretary-General spoke to the media at a press conference here he discussed the Political Declaration, and also the horrifying crisis in Sudan, which he said is spiraling out of control, and about the continued violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.
On Sudan, he said that, for over 18 months, El Fasher and the surrounding areas in North Darfur have been an epicentre of suffering, hunger, violence and displacement. And since the Rapid Support Forces entered El Fasher last weekend, the situation is growing worse by the day.
He once again called for an immediate end to this unimaginable violence; for the safe, rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to all civilians in need; for an end to the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan; and for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
Regarding Gaza, the Secretary-General said that all parties must abide by the decisions of the first phase of the peace agreement. And he stressed the need to establish a credible political path towards ending the occupation, realizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and leading to a two-State solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.
During the day, the Secretary-General met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani , Amir of the State of Qatar. In their meeting, the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to Qatar for hosting this landmark event. The Secretary-General and the Amir exchanged views on regional issues. The Secretary-General commended Qatar for the crucial role it played in securing the recent ceasefire deal in Gaza and underlined the need for establishing a political horizon towards the self-determination of the Palestinian people and a negotiated two-State solution.
The Secretary-General also had bilateral meetings withHis Majesty Philippe of Belgium , King of the Belgians; Tamás Sulyok , President of Hungary;Ramchandra Paudel , President of Nepal; Manuel Marrero Cruz,Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba; and Asif Ali Zardari , President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
In the afternoon of Tuesday, 4 November, the Secretary-General delivered remarks to the high-level side event on education, entitled "Education as the Foundation of the New Social Contract: Reimagining Learning to End Poverty, Create Decent Work and Achieve Inclusion for All". Mr. Guterres stressed that education is a vital engine of transformation for countries, communities and people everywhere.
On the morning of Wednesday, 5 November, the Secretary-General left Qatar.