UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to attend the first Arab Economic Summit in Kuwait on January 19 following official visits to Lebanon and Syria, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Ban is also scheduled to inaugurate the UN House in Kuwait, which hosts all the UN specialized agencies.

Ban is to leave New York on January 15 with a first leg in Lebanon, where he will meet with Lebanese high government officials to discuss the situation of the disputed-over Gajar village, the Hariri Tribunal and the implementation of its various relevant resolutions, including 1559 and 1701, which put an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006.

He is also scheduled to visit the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

On the 18th, Ban is scheduled to visit Syria to discuss the Lebanese-Syrian political rapprochement and the situation in the region as a whole.

Ban will leave Kuwait at the end of the day to be on time for the inauguration of the new US President Barack Obama, scheduled for January 20 in Washington D.C. -Kuna