UN chief to visit Germany, Central Asia

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon will visit Germany and Central Asia to attend a series of international conferences and meet with top officials of Germany and five Central Asian countries, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

During his stay in Germany, Ban will attend a host of activities, including meetings on terrorism and development at the Summit of the Group of 7 and meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Tuesday, the secretary-general will arrive in Tajikistan, where he will attend the opening ceremony of the High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade.

While in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Ban will also meet with President Emomali Rahmon and visit Lake Sarez.

On June 10, the secretary-general will visit Kazakhstan, where he will participate in the Fifth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and will also meet with top officials of the country, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Karim Massimov.

Ban will then travel to Kyrgyzstan, where on Thursday, he will attend the opening of the International Conference on "Development of Parliamentarianism".

He will also hold talks with President Almazbek Atambaev, Prime Minister Temir Sariev and the Speaker of Parliament, Asilbek Jeenbekov, and visit the city of Osh, where he will meet with civil society representatives and local authorities.

On Friday, the secretary-general will visit Uzbekistan, where he will meet with the country's top officials, including President Islam Karimov and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

The secretary-general's final stop in central Asia will be Turkmenistan, where he will hold meetings with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and other senior officials and will also address faculty and students at the International University for Humanities and Development there.