Mar
The event took place on March 27th.
The Spanish Chief of Defense, Admiral Fernando Garcia Sanchez, attended the Chiefs of Defense Conference that took place on March 27 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Delegations of more than one hundred countries attended this conference that was opened by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and closed by the Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson.
This event marked a milestone in the history of the United Nations, since for the first time Chiefs of Defense and high ranking military officials gathered to discuss UN peacekeeping operations around the world. In his opening remarks, Ban Ki-moon thanked the different countries for their efforts –contributing currently with more than 130,000 troops, police officers, and civilian personnel to 16 peacekeeping missions, and encouraged them to increase their support and unity in order to comply with mandates that are becoming more and more complex and demanding.
In addition to meeting with the Spanish Permanent Representative Ambassador, Román Oyarzun, and with the Chief of the Peacekeeping Operations Department (DPKO), Hervé Ladsous, the Spanish Chief of Defense availed himself of this opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral interest with his counterparts from different countries.
