Annan urges Pacific region countries to keep working with UN to prevent conflict

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged island countries in the Pacific region to continue collaborating with the world body, particularly in preventing conflict, and cited the crisis in the Solomon Islands as a "challenge of immediate concern."

"I commend the countries of the Forum for their pro-active approach in unanimously supporting, within the framework of the Biketawa Declaration, the collective action being led by Australia and New Zealand and being taken at the request of the Government of the Solomon Islands," Mr. Annan said in a message to the 2003 Pacific Islands Forum meeting on Saturday.

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Mark Malloch Brown, delivered the message on the Secretary-General's behalf to the summit in Auckland, New Zealand, of the Forum's 16 member countries.

Mr. Annan said he looked forward to the restoration of normalcy in the Solomon Islands, so the country can "move quickly to begin long-term peacebuilding efforts."

He also said he was pleased with the relationship between the UN and the Forum and the world body stood ready to work closely with the countries of the region "to support efforts of the Forum in coordinating regional efforts aimed at resolving conflict through peaceful means."