UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will highlight the importance of development and human rights during visits next week to Sri Lanka and Myanmar, two legs of a five-stop Asia tour, his spokesman said Thursday.
Ban will arrive in Myanmar on Tuesday for talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto prime minister who is leading reforms in the country after decades of military rule.
During his visit to Sri Lanka beginning late Wednesday, Ban will meet with President Maithripala Sirisena and deliver a keynote speech in Colombo on the UN’s global development goals.
The UN chief will focus on the “promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,” Dujarric said.
Ban will also visit a resettlement site for displaced people in Jaffna, in the north, and take part in a conference on youth and reconciliation in Galle, in the south.
The UN chief will start off his tour in Singapore and attend the G20 summit in China later in the week, followed by a meeting of the Asia-Pacific ASEAN forum and the United Nations in Laos, AFP reports.
-Agencies
