‘UN chief will certainly attend Tehran NAM summit’

TEHRAN,Aug.21(MNA) – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will certainly attend the XVI Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which is scheduled to be held in Tehran next week, a spokesman for the summit said on Monday. “Contrary to the rumors which have been spread, the attendance of the UN secretary general in the Tehran summit is certain,” Mohammad Reza Forqani said in response to the news reports claiming that Ban had decided not to attend the summit. “Contacts, requests, and pressure meant to dissuade Ban Ki-moon from attending the NAM summit in Tehran have not been effective, and the UN secretary general will certainly travel to Tehran,” he said. Earlier on the day, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani had said, “The share of non-aligned countries in the United Nations is large, and the more the organization withdraws from the conference the smaller it gets.”