Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General would be on an official visit to India from 26-29 April 2012. He will be accompanied by his wife, Madam Ban Soon-taek and a high-level delegation. This is his third visit to India after assuming the office of Secretary General in January 2007.
Mr. Ban Ki-moon will be visiting Delhi and Mumbai in the course of this visit. During the Delhi leg of his visit the Secretary General will be hosted by External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna. He is also scheduled to meet Hon’ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad and call on the Prime Minister. The Secretary General is also being conferred an honorary doctorate by the Jamia Millia Islamia.
While in Mumbai on 28 April, the Secretary General will meet the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan. He is also scheduled to visit some UN development projects in Mumbai and participate in a Millennium Development Goals related event being arranged there.
The UNSG’s visit to India comes in the context of India’s strong commitment to multilateralism and its wide-ranging contribution to efforts of the UN, including its specialized programmes and agencies. It is expected that UNSG’s visit will provide an opportunity for us to share India’s perspectives on major regional and global issues.