UN secretary general to visit Ireland next month

UNITED NATIONS secretary general Ban Ki-Moon will make an official visit to Ireland next month, the first by a UN secretary general since 2004.

During his two-day visit on July 7th-8th, Mr Ban will deliver an address on UN peacekeeping to the Institute for International and European Affairs.

He will meet President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who will host a working lunch in Government Buildings on July 7th.

The secretary general will also have discussions with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who will host a dinner in his honour that evening.

Those discussions will include UN reform and the relationship between the EU and UN in international peace and security.

Mr Ban will also have talks with Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea and Defence Forces chief-of-staff Lieut Gen Dermot Early on Irish participation in UN peace operations.

The secretary general previously visited Ireland when he was South Korea’s minister for foreign affairs and trade, while the last serving UN secretary general to visit Ireland was Kofi Annan in October 2004.

Announcing next month’s visit, Mr Martin said: “For Ireland, commitment to the United Nations has long been a cornerstone of our foreign policy, and we remain strongly supportive of its role and work in areas such as peace-keeping, disarmament, development and humanitarian action.”