Ivan Gašparovič discussed the future of the United Nations Organization with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York. The UN supreme official thanked the Slovak President for Slovakia’s exemplary cooperation with the UN. “I highly appreciate the partnership between the UN and the Slovak Republic, as well as the work of Slovak diplomats for the UN,” Ban Ki-moon said. According to Ban, the quality of Slovak diplomacy has also been proved by the work of Miroslav Jenča, the Secretary General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.

Ivan Gašparovič emphasised that Slovakia appreciated the efforts of the Secretary General towards a peaceful future of the world, as well as towards improving social situation of people in impoverished regions. “The world needs the UN, so that this organisation is able to act preventively anywhere where we want to avoid critical situations, and so that we can preserve security and peace in the world,” the President added. He noted that Slovakia still supported the UN reform which had been launched after Ban Ki-moon’s appointment as the Secretary General.
The talks also touched upon Slovakia’s engagement in peace-keeping operations in Cyprus, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, for which the Secretary General particularly thanked the Slovak President.