UN chief looks forward to working with new British leaders on shared goals

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the newly-appointed leaders of the United Kingdom and said he looked forward to working with them on common goals such as climate change, nuclear disarmament and the achievement of global development targets.

The United Nations chief spoke by telephone separately with Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Foreign Secretary William Hague, according to information provided by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

Mr. Ban noted that the UN has benefited considerably from the leadership and guidance of the UK on a range of issues, including the Middle East, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, nuclear disarmament and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight globally-agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

The Secretary-General also pointed out that the UK has been an unfailing leader on the issue of climate change and indicated that he looked forward to discussing with Mr. Cameron what arrangements he wished to take forward under his government with regard to the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, which is currently co-chaired by his predecessor, Gordon Brown.

The Advisory Group, which Mr. Ban launched in February, is co-chaired by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and intended to mobilize financing swiftly to help developing countries combat climate change. Its members also include President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, senior ministers and officials from central banks and experts on finance and development.

They are expected to issue their recommendations before the next conference of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Mexico later this year.