Ban welcomes US commitment to engage UN

This was stressed by the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, in a major foreign policy speech of the Obama Administration on Wednesday.

"The US leadership at the United Nations is essential, given the complex array of challenges facing the international community, from climate change, to issues of peace and security, to human rights," said a statement attributable to his spokesperson.

"Providing the resources necessary to allow the United Nations to undertake the jobs asked of it is also essential," the statement said adding that Ban particularly welcomes the recent US contributions to the UN provided by the Obama Administration and the US Congress.

The Secretary-General is committed to continuing the reform process and looks forward to working with the US, and all the UN Member States, to ensure that the Organization can meet the demands asked of it by countries in the most effective, efficient and accountable way possible, the statement said.

Arguing that the UN is essential to efforts to galvanize concerted actions that make Americans safer and more secure, Rice said in her speech, "Today, as we steer a new course at the United Nations, our guiding principles are clear, We value the UN as a vehicle for advancing US policies and universal rights. We stand strong in defense of America's interests and values, but we don't dissent just to be contrary."

Quoting the US President, Barack Obama, she said, the UN is imperfect; but it is also indispensable. "There can be no substitute for the legitimacy the UN can impart or its potential to mobilize the widest possible coalitions. There is no doubt that we are more secure when the UN can foster non-proliferation and promote disarmament," she argued.