Ban Ki-moon to make first trip to Central Asia

Almaty. March 30. Kazakhstan Today - The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, will begin his visit to the Central Asian countries - Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the agency reports citing the UN site.

The questions of increase of level of regional cooperation, disarmament, preservation of the environment and a series of measures known as the Millennium Development Goals will be discussed during his visit.

This will be the first visit of the UN Secretary General to the Central Asian states since his appointment to this post in January, 2007.

Ban Ki-moon will begin his official visit to Ashkhabad (Turkmenistan), where he will visit the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights.

Ban Ki-moon also plans to carry on negotiations with the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, in Ashgabat.

The second stop of the UN Secretary General will be in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), where he will address the Parliament of the country and will meet the President, Kurmanbek Bakiev, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kadyrbek Sarbaev.

The next visit will be Uzbekistan, where Ban Ki-moon intends to get acquainted with the consequences of deterioration of the environment of the Aral Sea. Aral has reduced in size by more than 70 % after the rivers running into it have been directed for irrigational projects.

The Secretary General will hold negotiations in Uzbekistan with the President, Islam Karimov, and will lecture at the University of Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent.

He will furhter visit Dushanbe (Tajikistan) to hold negotiations with the President of the country, Emomali Rahmon, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hamrohon Zarifi.

In Kazakhstan, the UN Secretary General intends to visit former nuclear range Semipalatinsk. He will also meet the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Kanat Saudabaev.

Ban Ki-moon, in Astana, will carry on negotiations with the representatives of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and will meet the Speaker and other members of the National Parliament.

After visiting Central Asia, Ban Ki-moon will go to Vienna for a meeting with the high-ranking officials of the Austrian government, including its President, Heinz Fischer, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michael Spindelegger.

He also plans to report at the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and will preside in the spring session of the Central Executives Board (CEB), where chairs of 27 establishments, funds and programs of the United Nations system gather twice a year.