New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Friday the decision by Zimbabwe's main opposition party to join President Robert Mugabe's government following five months of a political rift.

Ban said in a statement that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai was complying with an agreement reached last September and the recent demand by the Southern African Development Community heads of state for a government of national unity in Zimbabwe.

"The secretary general calls on the new government to take all necessary measures to address the humanitarian and economic crises in the country and respect democratic freedoms," the UN said.

The MDC voted Friday in "full unanimity" to join Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, ending its previous demand for a more equitable power-sharing deal with Mugabe. (dpa)