Ban visitign Nepal on April 2

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be visiting Nepal on April 28 to attend an international meeting on the developmentof Lumbini, Lumbini Development National Steering Committee confirmed on Friday.
Hosted by the UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led committee, the international meeting slated for April 29 in Lumbini is expected to garner international support to develop the birthplace of Buddha as the premier place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world.
A meeting of the committee on Friday decided to hold the international meeting in Lumbini and expedite preparations for the event. The committee's next meeting slated for March 13 is expected to take a concrete decision on preparations of the international meeting.
According to Cultural Minister Gopal Kirati, who is also a member of the national committee, the government will invite heads of state of 16 Buddhist countries andother international dignitaries to the jamboree.
Nepali Congress leader Minendra Rijal, another member of the committee, confirmed the scheduled visit of Ban. "He will arrive in Kathmandu on April 28 and attend the international meeting in Lumbini on 29," he said.
Kirati said the April 29 meeting is also expected to reshuffle the International Committee on Lumbini Development.
The Dahal-led committee has proposed reshuffling the international committee stating that heads of state or government should be nominated as members of the international body. Earlier, during his meeting in New York, Dahal had proposed Ban to take the leadership of the international committee.
Seeking international support, moral as well as economic, taking a decision about preparing a Broader Lumbini Development Master Plan are the meeting's top agenda.
The UNDP in 1978 granted some one million dollars for the preparation of a new master plan for Lumbini's development, including engineering and archaeological studies. The plan had an objective of restoring about 7.7 square km area, to be known as Lumbini Garden, centering on thegarden and the Ashoka Pillar, with an additional area of 64.5 square km to be developed in its support.
The Dahal-led panel is working to prepare a new broader master plan that will cover the surrounding districts as well. The"Greater Lumbini" envisoned by this new plan comprises Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Nawalparasi districts. Only a few months ago, the government appointed Korean professor Kwak to prepare the new masterplan. The Korea International Cooperation Agency has signed a $2 million grant to help carry out the master plan for the peace city in Lumbini.
Meanwhile, Lumbini Development Trust has decided to invite Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to attend a special ceremony to be organized in Lumbini on May 6. The Trust is going to organize a grand ceremony in Lumbini on the same day to mark "Visit Lumbini Year 2012".
Ban first visited Lumbini on November 1, 2008. The site, located in the foothills of the Himalayas in Kapilavastu district, was declared a World Heritage Site by the Unesco in 1997.