Germany-UN-Visit
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Berlin on Tuesday, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told the press here Friday.

Talks will dwell on current international issues, the question of UN reforms, the global food crisis and climate protection, he added.

Ban will also meet with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other members of the German cabinet during his two-day visit.

Berlin is still pressing ahead with plans for a German seat on the UN Security Council as well as much-needed UN reforms according to Steinmeier.

Merkel is reportedly envisioning a UN Security seat for several countries, among them Germany, for a limited time period of around 10 years.

The German proposal is also aimed at enticing the backing of rival countries like Italy which in the past had joined the US in actively torpedoing Berlin's efforts to get a Security Council seat.

After years of pushing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Germany has scaled back its ambitions, hoping that a number of major reforms would end with Berlin as part of the body.

For years the Group of Four (G-4) - Germany, Brazil, India and Japan - has argued its members deserved permanent seats on the UN's most powerful body.

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder undertook major diplomatic efforts to secure a seat on the UNSC, however his initiative was thwarted by the permanent members of the council, the US and China as well as the regular UN member state, Italy.

Washington's opposition to German membership in the Security Council was also partially linked to Berlin's steadfast refusal to support the US war in Iraq.