The EU ambassador to the UN has sent a veiled message to the US saying that the U.S. must think twice before pulling funding from the United Nations (UN) and sending the interngovernmental organization into irrelevance.
The current debate in Washington D.C. surrounding the future of the country's commitment to the UN was described as only the starting point, said João Vale de Almeida, while pointing out to his experience as a former ambassador to the U.S.
"Congress will have a lot to say. There are voices in Congress that have different views from the administration on this. The debate is on, it's a legitimate debate, a democratic one which we respect," Vale de Almeida said in a television interview very recently while speaking from the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum.
"Our message to the Americans is to say: Think twice before making the UN irrelevant by defunding it," he added.
He believed that the American budgetary procedure would generate positive ideas to make the UN a more efficient and effective place, the ambassador said ambassador said that was a far cry from some others trying to paint the ongoing debate as unequivocally negative for the UN as well as for the world.
"We have new threats, new challenges, new actors…in a world like this I don't think any single country alone, in isolation, can find solutions to all these problems. We need a multilateral solution," the Portuguese diplomat argued.
Here have been increasing number of accusations against the UN about its lack of suitability for purpose in today's world and hence the UN finds itself at a difficult juncture at the moment. But allying those accusations, faith in the new Secretary-General, fellow Portuguese national, António Guterres, appointed last October, was expressed by Vale de Almeida.
"The UN is certainly entering a new cycle and I believe it is a positive one…certainly the UN needs reform and the new Secretary-General is a reform-minded Secretary-General," he attested.
While fulfilling a role as a key trading partner as well as supplier of developmental and humanitarian aid, the ambassador highlighted that the bloc was and will remain once of the biggest sources of financial support for the UN, while rejecting the contention that the EU's influence may dwindle once Britain departs.
"We are already contributing a lot," Vale de Almeida claimed before expanding on the EU's vision for the intergovernmental body.
"We want to make the UN relevant, fit for purpose and useful in addressing some of the most complex issues in today's world," he concluded.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
The current debate in Washington D.C. surrounding the future of the country's commitment to the UN was described as only the starting point, said João Vale de Almeida, while pointing out to his experience as a former ambassador to the U.S.
"Congress will have a lot to say. There are voices in Congress that have different views from the administration on this. The debate is on, it's a legitimate debate, a democratic one which we respect," Vale de Almeida said in a television interview very recently while speaking from the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum.
"Our message to the Americans is to say: Think twice before making the UN irrelevant by defunding it," he added.
He believed that the American budgetary procedure would generate positive ideas to make the UN a more efficient and effective place, the ambassador said ambassador said that was a far cry from some others trying to paint the ongoing debate as unequivocally negative for the UN as well as for the world.
"We have new threats, new challenges, new actors…in a world like this I don't think any single country alone, in isolation, can find solutions to all these problems. We need a multilateral solution," the Portuguese diplomat argued.
Here have been increasing number of accusations against the UN about its lack of suitability for purpose in today's world and hence the UN finds itself at a difficult juncture at the moment. But allying those accusations, faith in the new Secretary-General, fellow Portuguese national, António Guterres, appointed last October, was expressed by Vale de Almeida.
"The UN is certainly entering a new cycle and I believe it is a positive one…certainly the UN needs reform and the new Secretary-General is a reform-minded Secretary-General," he attested.
While fulfilling a role as a key trading partner as well as supplier of developmental and humanitarian aid, the ambassador highlighted that the bloc was and will remain once of the biggest sources of financial support for the UN, while rejecting the contention that the EU's influence may dwindle once Britain departs.
"We are already contributing a lot," Vale de Almeida claimed before expanding on the EU's vision for the intergovernmental body.
"We want to make the UN relevant, fit for purpose and useful in addressing some of the most complex issues in today's world," he concluded.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)