Date:31/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/31/stories/2008103155391200.htm

National

Ban’s Indian connections

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: On his maiden visit to the country after taking over as the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon delighted the audience at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation by revealing his several India connections. His link with the country began with his first posting abroad as a junior South Korean diplomat and since then he has travelled to the country several times.

“The streets of New Delhi are even more vibrant than I remember,” he observed. His son and daughter were born in India and the latter had married an Indian.

“I am expecting a joint product soon,” he said. But Mr. Ban disappointed the audience by dwelling fleetingly on U.N. reforms, including the expansion of the Security Council to which India is also an aspirant.

The Secretary General complimented the country’s policy planners since Independence for debunking the commonly heard argument that development must precede democracy. “Instead through democracy, your country has progressed and removed many social evils.”