United Nations Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will visit Austria on Aug. 28-30 and join activities marking the 30th anniversary of the Vienna International Center (VIC).

According to a Tuesday report from the United Nations Information Service, Ban and around 1,000 other guests including permanent representatives accredited to Vienna-based organizations, ambassadors to Austria, Austrian president and foreign minister will attend a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the VIC on Friday.

The UN chief, Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and the mayor of Vienna will give speeches at the ceremony.

Ban will also meet with Fischer and Spindelegger during his three-day trip to Austria. One important topic of their meeting will be the Austrian presidency in the UN Security Council. Austria has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Councilsince the beginning of the year and will assume the Council's rotating presidency in November.

Following a private visit to the Austrian president's summer residence in Murzsteg, the UN secretary-general will then go to Tyrol, where he will address the European Forum Alpbach.

Ban has a special relationship with Austria, as he served as the Republic of Korea's ambassador to Vienna from 1998 to 2000.

Source: Xinhua