UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel next week to Sharm-El Sheik, Egypt, where he will co-chair on Thursday the launching of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), UN spokesperson Michele Montas announced Friday.

Montas told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York that the Secretary-General will also attend a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Iraq's Expanded Neighbors, representatives of the Permanent Members of the Security Council, and members of the G8 countries.

The Secretary-General attaches great importance to the ICI and considers this process to be one of the most critical means of helping Iraq to build a "secure, unified, federal and democratic nation, founded on the principles of freedom and equality, capable of providing peace and prosperity for its entire people," the spokesperson said.

The ICI is an Iraqi initiative cosponsored by the United Nations. It seeks to consolidate peace in the conflict-torn country and pursue political, economic and social development over the next five years.

Source: Xinhua