Ban will arrive in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Wednesday and on the next day take part in a Partners Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, which is being convened by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to broaden public and private support for the initiative.

He will also have meetings with his High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Jorge Sampaio, and the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Spain, co-chairs of the Forum, to discuss the way forward.

Launched in 2005 through the initiative of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations, the Alliance of Civilizations seeks to promote better cross-cultural relations worldwide.

The UN Secretary-General will also attend a separate event on sustainable energy linked to the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

On Thursday, Ban will co-chair a major international conference on the future of Somalia and hold a range of bilateral meetings with other leaders attending the conference.

On June 2, the UN chief will travel to the Saudi city of Jeddah, where he is scheduled to hold meetings with the country’s leaders, including King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud. On the following day, Ban will co-chair the second meeting of the Advisory Board of the newly established UN Counter-Terrorism Centre with the Saudi Foreign Minister.