New Delhi, April 24
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrives here tomorrow on a four-day visit to India during which he will holds talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders on a range of issues, including UN reforms and the situation in the region.

This will be Ban’s third visit to India after he took over as the head of the world body in 2007. Apart from New Delhi, Ban, who will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, will visit Mumbai, according to MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

Besides the PM, the UN chief will meet External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The visit is expected to provide India an opportunity to share its perspective on major regional and world issues with the UN chief, the spokesman added. Ban would also receive an honorary doctorate degree from Jamia Milia Islamia University on April 27.

In Mumbai, he would meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan as well as with a small group of key business leaders committed to utilising their expertise to promote the health of women and children.

The visit comes at a time when New Delhi is pitching for an expansion of the Security Council with India’s inclusion in the permanent category.

India is currently a member of the Security Council in the non-permanent category for a two-year period that ends in December. Official sources said India has tried to play a moderating role at the Security Council during the last 15 months on all major issues, be it the Libyan crisis or the situation in Syria.

The sources said India had also proposed the formation of a UN-led anti-piracy force to deal with pirates off the coast of Somalia. However, the proposal has so far drawn a lukewarm response with many countries expressing reservations about its command and control structure.