Activities of Secretary-General in Angola, 23-25 November

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, arrived in Luanda late in the evening of Sunday, 23 November, for an official visit to Angola.

Early the next morning, Monday, 24 November, the Secretary-General had a meeting with the United Nations country team in Angola. Then he headed to the Presidential Palace, where he held a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço.

Soon after, the Secretary-General addressed the Seventh Annual African Union-European Union Summit, which took place in the capital Luanda. In his remarks, the Secretary-General pointed out that right now, the world is changing at a radical rate. He noted that technology barrels ahead, climate chaos reigns and inequalities deepen.

The Secretary-General said that we are moving towards a multipolar world, with global power in flux. Against the risks of division of the world into two blocs, led by two big Powers, he stressed that we need an interconnected multipolarity, with an inclusive network of intense relations on trade, development, financial institutions, and with increasing political coordination.

The Secretary-General said that together, the African Union and the European Union make up 40 per cent of UN Member States. He underscored that the African Union and the European Union have the power to uphold the Charter, broker agreements and steer the world towards a more stable, more inclusive reality - where international law prevails and injustices and inequalities are progressively eliminated.

Afterwards, the Secretary-General met with the President of the National Assembly and the Bureau, Adão de Almeida, before speaking at a National Assembly Special Session held to hear an address by the Secretary-General. This was followed by a joint press encounter with Mr. Almeida. Speaking to the media, the Secretary-General emphasized that we need a profound reform of the global financial architecture that reflects today's world, that provides accessible and predictable financing rather than penalizing the victims of crises they did not cause. He added that we also need to give African countries their rightful place in every international institution, including financial institutions and the United Nations Security Council.

That evening, the Secretary-General attended a gala dinner hosted by the President of the Republic of Angola.

The Secretary-General departed Luanda on the morning of Tuesday, 25 November.