Press Release - The President and Mrs. Bush to Host Lunch for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mrs. Ban Soon-taek

The President and Mrs. Bush will host United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mrs. Ban Soon-taek for lunch at the White House on January 6, 2009. This meeting will be an opportunity for the President to thank Secretary-General Ban for his leadership of the United Nations and his cooperation on key issues over the past two years. They will discuss the future of the United Nations and the challenges that remain, such as U.N. reform, the Middle East, Burma, Somalia, and peacekeeping in Darfur. The President will stress the need for a United Nations that can act effectively to promote freedom, democratic governance, human rights, and a world free from terror.