The UN secretary general has told an Ulster audience that the Northern Ireland peace process is an "inspiration" to the rest of the world.

Delivering the Tip O'Neill lecture at the University of Ulster on Monday, Kofi Annan said valuable lessons are being learned from the cessation of violence in exchange for devolution and cross-community government.

Although the Belfast assembly is currently suspended the leading international diplomat paid tribute to the politicians who worked to create it and bring about the ceasefire.

Annan acknowledged that Northern Ireland has not yet put the troubles behind it "but it does seem to me that you are managing them better and more hopefully than in the past," he said.

"For some years now, you have been spared the large-scale violence and terror that used to disfigure your beautiful part of the country, and seemed to blight its future.

"Your efforts to create a better world for your children have been a source of inspiration and hope to people in many other countries.

"If the world is to learn lessons about how to manage a transition from troubles and violence to peace, surely it can learn some of them from you – from your commitment, courage and imagination – in seeking solutions and fostering trust between communities which had been at loggerheads for decades."

Former SDLP leader, and fellow Nobel laureate, Professor John Hume, holder of the Tip O’Neill chair at the university, welcomed Annan to the event.

"This is a historic day, not only for the university, but also for this city," he said.

"We are honoured that one of the most highly respected international statesmen, Mr Kofi Annan, has accepted our invitation to address us here today."