Egypt participated in the sixth secret ballot held by the UN Security Council to name the new UN Secretary-General.

The results showed that former Portuguese prime minister António Guterres emerged as the clear favorite to become the next UN Secretary-General.

The UN Security Council will then forward Guterres’ name to the 193-member General Assembly for final confirmation.

In a statement distributed by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Egypt's permanent representative to the UN Amr Aboulatta said Egypt welcomed Guterres's nomination for the UN top post. 

Guterres has come out atop the five closed-door polls since July. The 15-member UN council is aiming to reach consensus on a replacement for Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who will step down at the end of 2016 after two five-year terms.

Source: MENA