UNITED NATIONS, March 28 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave for a five-nation European tour on Saturday to deal with issues on anti-poverty targets and chemical weapons, Xinhua news agency reported. Ban begins his tour in San Marino on Sunday with a meeting with the foreign minister and will later take part in the investiture of the newly-elected
captains regent.
“On April 2, Ban will meet with the prime minister of Andorra and the parliament president before addressing members of the parliament,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Ban will then meet with Prince Albert, the state minister and other government officials of Monaco. On Thursday, the UN chief will travel to Spain capital Madrid to launch an event for the 1,000 days of action for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and meet the crown prince and prime minister.
The MDGs set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction and a “Global Partnership for Development.” In the remaining days of his tour, Ban will travel to the Netherlands where he will meet with Queen Beatrix and Dutch government ministers.
Ban will conclude his trip on Monday where he will attend the opening session of the third Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention. He will also meet with the president and members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and with presidents of the Hague-based international criminal courts and tribunals.
BERNAMA
