UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Tuesday urged Egypt to maintain its commitment to implementing the roadmap to an early transition to a civilian administration, and expressed his satisfaction that the recent legislative elections were conducted in an orderly manner. At a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Ali Amr on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ban noted that the timetable for the presidential elections has been set and expressed the United Nations’ readiness to support an Egyptian-led reform process by proving technical support in capacity building, according to a news release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.

They also discussed events in the region, especially Egypt’s cooperation with Libya and the situation in Syria. Ban also conferred with President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast during which the UN chief welcomed the generally peaceful environment in which the legislative elections took place last month. He commended Ivory coast for its political reintegration in the West African region, and the country’s economic growth achieved so far. (APP)