Ban to depart on six-nation tour next week
19 March 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will embark next week on a trip that will take him to Russia, Qatar, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Turkey to tackle issues such as consolidating stability in Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process and the current economic turmoil.
Mr. Ban’s first stop on his nearly two-week trip will be the Russian capital, Moscow, where he will take part in a conference on Afghanistan organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), on 27 March.
The gathering will focus on the impact that the situation in the war-torn nation is having on neighbouring countries, and will also identify ways to jointly confront threats in Afghanistan, such as terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.
The Secretary-General will then travel to Doha, Qatar, to attend the League of Arab States summit, where he will discuss the Middle East peace process, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia.
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Document Sources: League of Arab States (LAS), Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), United Nations News Service
Subject: Middle East situation, Palestine question, Peace process
Publication Date: 19/03/2009