UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The statement was made at an informal meeting at which Guterres presented his priorities for 2018. 

He set a goal of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and mobilizing financial resources for that development. Mr. Guterres welcomed the reopening of inter-Korean communication channels.
The UN chief underlined the need to strengthen the African Union-UN partnership, the need to push back the dangerous tide of nationalism in Europe, and the need to revitalize mediation initiatives for Eastern Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Transnistria. A concerted effort is also urgently needed to restore long-term stability to the Western Balkans, and reverse the large-scale exodus of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, he added. Mr. Guterres also said that the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is an important task for this year.