New UN chief says to work closely with AU

The newly appointed United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed keen interest to work with the African Union (AU) and its member states.

"The African Union is working for unity, peace and progress for all people in every corner of this great continent," he told AU heads of state and government at the opening of the 28th AU summit on Monday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

He said the UN would work closely with the AU as the pan-African bloc endeavors towards realization of its development agenda and ensuring peace and security across Africa.

"You can count on the full support of the United Nations for all your efforts to strengthen national institutions, to maintain the rule of law, ensure accountability, promote good governance, facilitate the peaceful transition of power and prevent violent extremism," he said.

Implementing agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting peace and security, and human rights are among the major areas that the UN envisages to work with AU, according to the secretary-general.

Guterres also commended African nations for providing large number of peacekeepers around the world, and for their "most generous host of refugees."

He also expressed his keen interest to work with AU to present "concrete proposals to the security council on predictable, reliable financing for AU peace operations".

He noted that Africa as a continent encompasses some of the world's fastest growing economies.

The world is in the second year of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and Africa has adopted a plan that is even more far-reaching and ambitious: Agenda 2063, he said.

"For the people of Africa to fully benefit from the global partnership for sustainable development, these two agendas need to be strategically aligned," he said.

He also praised the recent socio-economic transformations on the African continent, saying that "much of Africa has seen significant social and economic progress." Endit