Ban Ki-moon in India on two day visit

New Delhi, Oct 30: Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General arrived on Thursday, Oct 30 afternoon on his first visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.

Ban, who is accompanied by his wife, will call on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition L K Advani. The Secretary General, who will be here for two days, will hold delegation-level talks with the External Affairs Minister later this evening. The talks are likely to focus on regional and global political and economic situation.

Progress on the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, food and energy crisis and nuclear disarmament are also likely to be discussed, sources said.

The UN Secretary General, who is on a four-nation Asia tour that will also take him to Nepal and Bangladesh, arrived here from the Philippines.

The sources said India would also raise the issue of reform of the UN system including the enlargement of the UN Security Council in view of the changing world requirements and global scenario.

Mr Ban recently acknowledged that obstacles to nuclear disarmament were daunting and therefore, it was more imperative than ever to make it a reality given the twin economic and financial crises the world is currently facing.

UNI