UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon congratulated Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on the newly-convened Egyptian parliament on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Ethiopia's Addis Ababa.

Ban expressed to El-Sisi his appreciation for the "Egyptian political leadership and its role in achieving political stability in Egypt," MENA reported. 

Egypt's presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef said Ban also praised Egypt's effective role in leading African states during the climate change summit in Paris in November-December.

El-Sisi praised the global role of the UN in conflict-resolution through diplomacy as well as its humanitarian role and its work in education, health and women and children's interests.

He highlighted the importance of coordination between Egypt and the UN, especially on the issues on the Security Council's agenda.

Ban and El-Sisi last met during the Paris climate conference, where the Egyptian president shared the African initiatives on renewable energy in a panel hosted by the UN chief.

On Sunday, the African Union unanimously adopted two initiatives presented by El-Sisi to use renewable energy sources, to diversify sources of funding for African countries in order to face climate change, and to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

Egypt gained a non-permanent seat in 2016-2017 at the UN Security Council.