BAN HAILS POTENTIAL OF NEW MEDITERRANEAN UNION AT PARIS SUMMIT

BAN HAILS POTENTIAL OF NEW MEDITERRANEAN UNION AT PARIS SUMMIT New York, Jul 14 2008 11:00AM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Union for the Mediterranean, a new initiative aimed at boosting ties across the region which was launched at a high-level summit in Paris over the weekend.

Addressing the launch, Mr. Ban noted that the Union is "well timed" to help the countries of the region shoulder their collective responsibilities with regard to peace and security issues. But the initiative also has the potential to deliver on a much wider agenda, he added.

"I believe this far-reaching multilateral initiative can work to address the complex trans-border issues the region faces, and provide a framework for the pooling of resources and the development of collective action," said the Secretary-General.

"And I hope the Union will become a vibrant partner of the entire United Nations family, across the range of the Union's areas of focus – from energy and environment to security cooperation, education and science," he stated.

In a separate statement to the summit, Mr. Ban noted that today's global challenges, including the food crisis, climate change and development, are "too big and too complex for any one country or government to address on its own.

"Instead, they require concerted and collective effort of the kind envisioned by the new Union for the Mediterranean," he said. "Your initiative brings together a diversity of cultures, experiences and world views that is, I believe, fundamental to any effort to understand and address today's transnational problems."

While in Paris, Mr. Ban joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders at today's Bastille Day military parade, which was led for the first time this year by two units of UN peacekeepers.
2008-07-14 00:00:00.000

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