On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly selected unanimously Antonio Guterres to a second term as Secretary-General, offering him another five years at the helm of the 193-member organization at such a period when the world is heavily divided, with innumerable conflicts the rapidly increasing impact of climate change, and a pandemic still spinning the globe.

As Assembly President Volkan Bozkir declared Guterres' re-election by "acclamation," without the need for a vote, ambassadors in the assembly chamber erupted in celebration.

The current Security Council president, Estonia's UN Ambassador Sven Jurgenson, presented a resolution voted by the 15-member council endorsing Guterres for a second term before the declaration.

The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the advice of the Security Council, according to the UN Charter.

Guterres was the sole candidate chosen by a UN member state, Portugal, wherein he previously held the position, and the country's current president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was seated in the assembly chamber to witness the ceremony.

This year, seven people applied to be secretary-general without the support of any government, which include former Ecuadorian President Rosalia Arteaga.

Guterres, a former UN refugee head, was voted by the assembly to succeed Ban Ki-moon in October 2016 having followed a fiercely contested and transparent competition that reportedly comprised of 13 candidates - seven women and six males. Guterres assumed office on January 1, 2017.

Guterres took the oath of office instantly after his re-election and offered an address asking UN member countries to "do everything that we can to eliminate present geostrategic divisions and problematic power relations."

"There are far too many asymmetric and paradoxes. They must be handled directly," he remarked.

Guterres expressed optimism that "whatever we are experiencing particularly in terms of lack of trust is, I believe, an exception, yet it can become the norm."

He pledged to "giving it my hardest to assure the flourishing of trust between and among nations, big and small, to establish bridges and engage persistently in building confidence" and to "attempt to instill optimism which we can help turn around, that the unthinkable is achievable."