UN chief to attend major Afghan conference in London next week

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon will take part in next week's international conference aimed at helping Afghanistan to chart its way forward in the wake of last year's presidential elections and build a more secure and prosperous country, a UN spokesman announced on Thursday.

Ban is co-hosting the so-called London Conference, which will be held in the British capital on Jan. 28, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Martin Nesirky told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The secretary-general has said previously that the conference offers "a very timely" opportunity to discuss Afghanistan's agenda following the recent elections, in which Karzai won another term as president.

The gathering aims to establish a strong compact between Karzai, his government and his people, and to also set up a strong partnership between the Afghan people and the international community.

After the London conference, Ban is then scheduled to visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the summit of the African Union ( AU).

While in Addis Ababa, the UN chief is also slated to hold a series of bilateral meetings with heads of State and government on the sidelines of the summit.

Source: Xinhua