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Ban’s upcoming travels take him to Geneva, Quebec City and Boston

Ban’s upcoming travels take him to Geneva, Quebec City and Boston

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mrs. Ban
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be traveling to Geneva next week for talks regarding the situation in Georgia, followed by a trip to Quebec City later in the week and then a visit to Boston at the end of this month.

Mr. Ban will be in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss Georgia and the future role of the United Nations there with representatives of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

He will be represented at the talks, which will be held at the expert level on Wednesday, by his Special Representative for Georgia, Johan Verbeke.

Later in the week, the Secretary-General travels to Quebec City, Canada, where he is scheduled to address the opening of the Francophonie Summit, during which he will stress the strong ties between the UN and Francophone countries.

While in the city, Mr. Ban also plans to hold several bilateral meetings before returning to New York next weekend.

At the end of the month, the UN chief will speak at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Ban’s speech, entitled “Securing the common good at time of global crises,” will focus on the importance of achieving disarmament, climate change solutions, global health targets and progress against terrorism. It will also centre on the challenge of addressing such issues against the backdrop of concurrent global crises pertaining to finance, food, energy and development.

He will be addressing the John F. Kennedy Forum, which frequently hosts heads of State; leaders in politics, government, business, labour and the media; academics; community organizers; and artists.