U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make a 10-day trip to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab summit due to be held on March 28, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said yesterday. The secretary-general's main priorities for the trip will be the Middle East peace process, stability in Lebanon, Darfur, and the U.N. role in Iraq, Montas told reporters. Ban wants to see for himself the peace processes in the region, and will visit Egypt, the Palestinian territories, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon before returning to U.N. headquarters on April 2nd. In the Palestinian territories, the Secretary General will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas and other members of the new unity government, and in Israel he will meet with the Knesset. He also wants to hear firsthand from the people in the region about the problems and challenges they face, said Montas. Calling fresh Arab diplomatic initiatives a renewed dynamism in diplomacy, Ban wants to express his support to re-invigorate the Middle East peace process, Montas said.
