UN a steady partner in Myanmar's reform, reconciliation process: Ban

The United Nations has been a steady partner supporting the reform and reconciliation process in Myanmar, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference here on Wednesday.

Hailing the conference as a historic transition, Ban pledged that the UN will continue efforts to smoothen the differences, lower tensions and move parties towards better understanding with the goals and values of the UN Charter, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UN Secretary General urged the participants to accept that no party involved in the reconciliation process can expect to achieve all its aims.

Ban said he was encouraged that different ethnic armed organisations with divergent interests and aspirations had come together to form a single team to negotiate the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) last year.

The new government in Myanmar has undertaken efforts to make it more inclusive and the Panglong Conference is representing the results of those efforts, Ban said.

The 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference of Myanmar, which aims to unite all ethnic nationalities and build a democratic federal union through dialogue, kicked off in capital Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.

The four-day historical Panglong Conference gathered representatives of the government, parliament, military, invited political parties, ethnic armed and non-armed organisations and civil society.

--IANS

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