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U.S. Cities / Official trips, UN Speeches and visits (2008, 2009, 2010)

The first official trip took place in September 2008 with President Nicolas Sarkozy, for the 63rd UN General Assembly. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy met with Laura Bush over lunch at the Metropolitan Museum to discuss literacy issues worldwide and with Wendi Murdoch and the Queen of Jordan to exchange views on the Millennium Campaign. A year later, the presidential couple returned to New York for three days for the 64th UN General Assembly, labelled the climate change summit. On the fringes of the General Assembly, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Global Ambassador for the Protection of mothers and children against the AIDS virus, gave her first UN speech. Accompanied by Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS and Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy launched an appeal on behalf of pregnant HIV-positive women. Her mandate is in fact to advocate for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus.

“I am merely the ambassador for these frightened women,” she said. The following year, on 29 March, 2010, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy returned to New York, where she visited universities (Steinhardt School Art Department of New York University) and a range of art schools (e.g the Juilliard School). At the New York Alliance-Française, she announced the launch of the Foundation’s scholarship exchange programme linking French and American art schools.

A further trip, from 17 to 20 September 2010, took place for the Millenium Goals Summit. The Ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against the AIDS virus was present for the speech given by President Sarkozy at the UN forum. Together they met Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UN AIDS, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, and Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Exchanges took place on the fringes of the Summit with Angela Merkel.