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UN chief to travel to France, Middle East

Xinhua, June 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be in Nice, France, on Friday to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to support private sector efforts to raise awareness and action for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.

The following day, on June 25, the secretary-general will travel to Paris where he is expected to receive an Honorary Doctorate at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "While in Paris, he will also meet with President Francois Hollande and Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault."

The secretary-general will be in Kuwait on June 26, where he is scheduled to meet with the amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the prime minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and the deputy prime minister, Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al-Sabah, the spokesman said.

Ban will also meet with his special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, as well as the Yemeni parties participating in the UN-facilitated peace talks in Kuwait, he said.

"The following day, he will depart for Israel and the State of Palestine," Dujarric said, adding that while in Jerusalem, the secretary-general will meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

He will visit Tel Aviv University where he is expected to receive the George S. Wise Medal, and speak to students and faculty, the spokesman said. He will also meet with private sector representatives and the University's research centers focusing on innovation and sustainable development.

On June 28, the secretary-general will travel to Gaza City, where he will visit a girls' school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and participate in a meeting of the Gaza central school parliament, said the spokesman.

Ban will visit a reconstruction project and hold a town hall meeting with UN staff working in Gaza, and he will also travel to the Palestinian city of Rawabi in the West Bank, he said.

While in Ramallah, the UN chief will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and he is expected to receive the Star of Palestine Order and attend Iftar with the two leaders, Dujarric said.

The secretary-general will be back in New York on June 29, the spokesman added. Enditem