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VIENNA, 25 April (UN Information Service) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik jointly inaugurated a new modern and climate-friendly state-of-the-art facility at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) on Friday, 25 April 2008.
The so-called M-Building, donated by Austria, represents a very significant enlargement of the Vienna International Centre since its official opening in 1979. It encompasses dozens of meeting rooms and has the capacity to service up to 1500 people. "The United Nations and other Vienna-based organizations are very grateful for this meaningful contribution, which will facilitate our work here immeasurably", Mr. Ban said at the inauguration ceremony.
The Secretary-General further highlighted its multiple environmentally-friendly and energy-saving features, such as re-circulating heat and sensors to optimize cooling and heating efficiency and minimize waste. "I'm extremely grateful for these measures, which answer my call for action on climate change. For the past year and a half, I've been pushing the environmental agenda, and it's encouraging to see that this building has been designed with the best interests of the planet at heart", he stated.
After the opening ceremony, the Secretary-General, Austrian Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ursula Plassnik, and Vienna's Mayor Michael Häupl briefly met the press addressing the current food crisis, the bombing of a Syrian facility, and Kosovo.
While in Vienna, the Secretary-General also spoke at a panel discussion together with Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and Slovenian Foreign Minister and EU Council President Dimitri Rupel on the topic "United Nations and European Union: Joining Forces for the Challenges of the 21 st Century".
Around 500 participants, including representatives of Austrian Cabinet ministries, Parliament, United Nations entities, other international organizations, the diplomatic community, media and civil society attended the panel at the Old Vienna Stock Exchange.
The Secretary-General paid tribute to the important role played by the European Union as well as by its Member States in the UN and highlighted the common objectives of peace, security, development and human rights shared by the two entities. He voiced his concern over the current global food crisis, as well as the challenges posed by climate change and reiterated the importance of pursuing the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a timely fashion.
During his visit to Austria, the Secretary-General also met with Austrian Federal President Heinz Fischer and Federal Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, as well as with the heads of the VIC-based organizations.
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