U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice-presidential Joe Biden on Thursday, congratulated outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his successful completion of two terms as UN scribe.
This is contained in readout of Obama’s and Biden’s meetings with Ban, released by the White House.
“The President thanked Secretary-General Ban for his valuable leadership of the United Nations over the past decade.
“The two leaders discussed the accomplishments the United States and the United Nations have made together since 2009 to strengthen international action on a wide range of global threats and challenges.
“These include climate change, preventing and ending armed conflicts, protecting universal human rights, advancing sustainable global economic development and reducing inequality, and addressing the threat posed by Iran and North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities.
“President Obama conveyed the importance of a strong partnership between the U.S. and the U.N, and urged continued efforts to reform and strengthen the organisation to better address the unprecedented demands for United Nations action on a broad set of international challenges.”
The White House statement said Biden and Ban agreed on sustaining the global cooperation between the UN and the U.S.
” Biden met today with outgoing Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and congratulated him for his successful leadership at the United Nations over the past decade.
“Secretary-General Ban thanked the Vice President for his enduring support for the UN, both as Vice President and throughout his years as U.S. Senator, and for the strong partnership between the UN and the U.S.
“The two agreed on the importance of sustaining international cooperation and momentum to address key global challenges, including climate change, peacekeeping, and nuclear proliferation.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that U.S. strongly supported Ban’s emergence as the secretary-general in 2006, and his subsequent appointment for a second term in 2011.
NAN further reports that Ban’s two-term tenure ends on Dec. 31, 2016, while a new secretary-general, António Guterres, assumes office on Jan. 1, 2017, for the next five years. (NAN)