UN chief to visit Pakistan on Tuesday

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday for an official two-day visit, said a Pakistani official press release. According to the Foreign Office, his wife, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek and senior United Nations officials will be accompanying the Secretary-General and he will call on the President, the Prime Minister and Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan. He will also meet the Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs and will receive a briefing at the National Disaster Management Authority, added the press release. Others he is expected by meeting are the Chief Minister of eastern province of Punjab, where he will attend a flag hoisting ceremony as a special guest on the August 14 Independence Day of Pakistan. Ban will inaugurate the Center for International Peace and Stability at the National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad and will attend an event on youth and education. Pakistan attaches great significance to the UN and accords high importance to the visit, as views will be exchanged on important global and regional issues, added the statement.