Addis Ababa - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan pledged on Thursday to work to improve welfare in Africa, the world's poorest continent, after he retires from his position later this year.
On his last tours in Africa as the world body's chief, Annan told participants at the fifth African Development Forum in the Ethiopian capital that his farewell was "not an adieu, but very much an au revoir."
"The time has come for me, in my UN capacity, to bid you farewell," he said. "But as I lay down my global responsibilities, I can promise to devote myself more than ever to the welfare of this beloved continent," said Annan, a Ghanaian.
Continues Below ↓
He lauded achievements made by the world body that he said had hoisted development aid above the $100-billion mark.
"Today, thanks largely to the vision and political will that emerged from four UN summits over the past six years ... ODA (Overseas Development Aid) is breaking through the 100-billion-dollar barrier," Annan said.
Annan is later expected to hold high-level talks with African Union leaders at the pan-African bloc's Addis Ababa headquarters to seek solutions on the crisis in Sudan's war-torn western Darfur
region.
He is due to retire from the helm of the world body in December after serving as the world's top diplomat for 10 years, and be replaced by South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon. - Sapa-AFP
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
