UN Secretary-General expected in Kigali

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in Kigali on Friday on the first leg of his three-nation African tour. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN Headquarters that the Secretary-General will leave New York on Thursday, for Kigali, where he will meet with African leaders, before flying off to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the fourteenth session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) on Sunday, according to agencies. “In Kigali, where the African Union Summit is currently taking place, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with the leadership of the African Union and other participating leaders, including members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), on the situation in South Sudan, of course.” There are growing fears that South Sudan might plunge into a new civil war following five days of renewed fighting that broke out last week between the army and forces loyal to former rebel leader and current first vice president Riek Machar who returned to the capital Juba to join a new government in April as part of peace deal reached last year. From Nairobi, Ban will then head to Durban for the opening the next day of the 21st International AIDS Conference, otherwise known as AIDS 2016, Dujarric said. “He will have a number of bilateral meetings and probably deliver a number of statements.” In Nairobi, the Secretary-General will speak at the opening of the UNCTAD on Sunday. The theme of this session of UNCTAD is “From decision to action: delivering the post-2015 development agenda.” On Monday, Ban will be in Durban, South Africa, for the opening of the AIDS 2016 Conference. At the conference, scientists, policymakers, world leaders and people living with HIV will discuss together successes and challenges specific to South Africa, as well as current global epidemic trends. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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UN Secretary-General expected in Kigali