The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, yesterday met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Rome. Mr. Ban is currently on an official trip that will take in stops in Switzerland, Qatar and Syria. Much of their discussion was devoted to the growing ties between the two organizations, especially in the wake of the 2006 UN General Assembly resolution calling for stronger UN-IPU cooperation. After a fruitful exchange of views the UN Secretary-General pledged to work closely with the world organization of parliaments.

They also discussed the ongoing crisis in Darfur and initiatives to bring peace to the region. The IPU President briefed Mr. Ban on his recent visit to Eastern Chad, during which he had visited the Djabal camps for Sudanese refugees. President Casini had expressed deep concern about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and called on the international community to deal with all aspects of the problem as a matter of extreme urgency.

Mr. Ban also raised the issue of climate change with his Italian hosts. Mr. Casini told him that the forthcoming IPU Assembly in Indonesia intended to give a strong political impetus to international negotiations aimed at addressing the threat of climate change and global warming.

---

Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 148 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
Other press releases	Version française de ce communiqué de presse	More information

---

Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 16 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org