CRI听力:Antonio Guterres sworn in as new UN secretary-general

"I, Antonio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience, the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of United Nations, to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organization."

After being sworn in by General Assembly President Peter Thomson, Guterres addressed the 193 member nations and said that UN reforms were urgently needed.

"And it's time for the United Nations to do the same, to recognize its shortcomings and to reform the way towards. The organization is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and it has contributed to decades of relative peace, but the challenges are now surpassing our abilities to respond, the UN must be ready to change."

Guterres said that UN reform should be focused on three main aspects, including crisis prevention and maintenance of peace and stability, further implementation of sustainable development goals, and structural reform within the United Nations.

He added that the United Nations needed to be nimble, efficient and effective, focusing more on delivery and less on process, more on people and less on bureaucracy.

Guterres further noted that he would send a clear signal to bring general equality "from top to bottom" within the organisation.

The meeting also paid tribute to outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and praised his contribution as UN Chief in the past ten years.

In his speech at the meeting, Ban Ki-moon conveyed his congratulations to Antonio Guterres, reflected on his past working experience and thanked many for their help and support during his tenure.

"I wish the new Secretary General and all of our member states peace and prosperity and every success! It has been a great honor to serve our United Nations and work together with you. And for all the people, I thank you all for your support and your continuous commitment to the noble purpose and principles of the United Nations. Thank you! "

During a post-ceremony news conference, Guterres was asked about his opinion on China's role in the UN and his expectation for cooperation between China and UN.

"In my recent visit to China, it was very clear the commitment of the Chinese president, the Chinese government to multilateralism, to strengthen multilateral institutions around the world. And the recent announcement made by China in relation to both the creation of the funds, the creation of a new bank, the One Belt One Road Initiative all show that China is strongly engaged in creating or helping create conditions for any effectively multilateral approach to global development, leaving in all behind is its objective of UN agenda 2030."

Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, was appointed the 9th secretary-general of the United Nations by the General Assembly on October 13.

His five-year term will start on January 1, 2017 and run until the end of December 31, 2021.

67-year-old Guterres served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.