U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Seoul later this week on a four-day visit to his native country for an international conference on the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The U.N. chief will give a keynote speech at the global conference on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ministry said.

Co-organized by the Korean government and the U.N., the one-day conference in the southern coastal city of Yeosu will bring together high-ranking officials in global maritime affairs, including Koji Sekimizu, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization and Patricia O'Brien, U.N. under-secretary-general for legal affairs and counsel, the official said.

On Monday, Ban plans to attend a ceremony to launch a public-private alliance aimed at seeking ways for South Korea to provide assistance to developing nations more effectively, according to the ministry.

The so-called "Development Alliance Korea," the first of its kind in the country, aims to share information between the government and private entities on development projects in foreign countries so that the country implements diverse development models in an effective fashion, the ministry said.

The alliance will be led by eight agencies including the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Federation of Korean Industries, with 80 private firms vowing to join the move so far, the ministry added.

The U.N. chief also plans to make a speech for the meeting of the U.N. Women, which deals with women's and gender issues, set to be held at a Seoul college from Aug. 10-13.

"His visit is expected to contribute to raising awareness both at home and abroad about diverse global issues the U.N. chief has pushed for, such as preserving maritime environments and improving the status of women," the ministry said in a statement. (Yonhap)