The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has welcomed the call from Prime Minister Gordon Brown to world leaders to unite with greater urgency to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Mr Brown was at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday where he met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

In his address, Mr Brown spoke of a "development emergency" in the face of sluggish progress in many countries towards fulfilling the MDGs to halve extreme poverty.

He warned that the world was "a million miles away from success" in meeting the targets, and called for governments, big business, scientists, faith groups and NGOs to unite in a "force for justice" to drive the MDGs to completion by the target date of 2015.

Archbishop Sentamu reaffirmed that he and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, wanted the Government to "act urgently" to make sure that extreme poverty was slashed by 2015 - the target date for the achievement of the MDGs.

Dr Sentamu said that the Prime Minister's call on Tuesday was "a sign of hope that such action is imminent".

Looking back to 2000 when world leaders first committed to the MDGs, Archbishop Sentamu said, "These vows have been broken and we have clearly fallen behind."

He welcomed the Prime Minister's challenge for world leaders to unite in the effort to eradicate poverty, adding, "The meaning of partnership is that we sink or swim together."

The Archbishop of York is currently visiting the Archdiocese in Perth in Western Australia.

He reaffirmed the crucial role of the church in bringing relief to those in need.

"Faith-based organisations have become a key means of delivery in reaching those in need, particularly women and children. Our church schools and health centres stand at the centre of a development commitment by churches that is part of a 2,000 year commitment to human development," he said.

"Faith leaders of many traditions stand at the forefront of this work across the world, and I among them look for real chances to deepen our commitment to them."