Accra, June 10, GNA - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lauded the African Union (AU) for the cohesion and consistency it had displayed since adopting a common position on the proposed UN reforms. He said Africa needed to preserve its unity on the issue or risk being trampled upon by other regions in the world.

"We have 53 bloc votes and if we exercise it, we will definitely make a significant impact on the UN reform process," he said at a meeting of the AU Core Group of Three and Committee of 10 in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra on Friday said the AU Core Group of Three and Committee of 10 had met to study the Report of the President of the UN General Assembly, which was released on June 3.

At its Seventh Extraordinary Session held in Addis Ababa from March 7 to March 8, the AU Executive Council adopted the Ezulwini Consensus, which embodied the common African position on the proposed UN reform. The AU Core Group of Three comprises Nana Akufo-Addo, Mr Olu Adeniji, Foreign Minister of Nigeria and Prof. Alpha Omar Konare, Chairman of the AU Commission. The AU Committee of 10 comprises Djibouti and Ethiopia (Eastern Region), Benin and Senegal (Western Region), Libya and Algeria (Northern Region), Botswana and South Africa (Southern Region) and Congo Brazzaville and Chad (Central Region).