Annan’s global outreach praised

Kofi Annan’s legacy of fighting poverty and his advocacy of equality and human rights will live on after the former United Nations secretary-general and Nobel Peace Laureate, who is considered by China to be an old friend and respected diplomat, passed away on Saturday at the age of 80, analysts said.

As the first UN secretarygeneral emerging from the ranks of UN staff, Annan turned out to be “an outstanding diplomat and global statesman”, said Jin Yongjian, former UN undersecretary-general and a veteran Chinese diplomat.

He made great contributions to promoting world peace and socio-economic development while fighting throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world, Jin said in an interview with China Daily.

“Annan is charismatic, and is always humble and patient and ready to listen to others,” said Jin, who worked with Annan at the UN between 1996 and 2001.

Annan paid seven visits to China when he served as UN chief from 1997 to 2006. His last visit to China was in April 2015 in the capacity of chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation.

While addressing students at Peking University during a China trip, Annan said harmonious world order should be based on the three pillars of peace and security, sustainable and inclusive development, and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Chinese media lauded Annan as a champion of peace, and a reformer who made tremendous contributions to the world.

When Annan finished his duties at the UN, he left behind an organization far more aggressively engaged in peacekeeping and fighting poverty, with a renewed emphasis on human rights and development.

Annan played a major role in promoting multilateral cooperation to resolve common challenges faced by the international community, and continuously promoted world peace, said Zhou Fangyin, a foreign policy researcher at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies, in a separate interview.

Kofi Annan and his wife Nane at the Great Wall in Beijing in 1997