Costa Rican nominee for top UN seat to visit China
Xinhua, July 11, 2016 Adjust font size:
Christiana Figueres, Costa Rica's nominee for the top UN job, is to visit China on July 18 to promote her candidacy.
Figueres, who aims to succeed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after his term ends at the end of this year, will be accompanied by Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez, La Nacion daily reported on Sunday.
The two also plan to visit Russia and France before July 21, the date by which the UN Security Council is to present its first shortlisted candidates.
These three countries, along with the United States and Britain, are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which will select and recommend a candidate to the UN General Assembly.
Figureres is considered as a viable candidate thanks to her role as Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is credited for helping lead 195 countries to the Paris Agreement on climate change in December.
The daily asked whether Costa Rica's decision to compete for the UN position is a divisive move for Latin America, as Argentina nominated its Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra for the same post. Gomzalez said it is a pride that they can represent two or more women of such high caliber. Endi