U.S. President Barack Obama has invited U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the White House next week, the first meeting between the two since Obama took office, Washington's U.N. envoy said on Friday.

Subjects the two would discuss on Tuesday include Sudan, which International Criminal Court has charged war crimes in Darfur, ignoring warnings the decision to hurt Sudan's stability, Ambassador Susan Rice said.

They would also talk about efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the global economic crisis, U.N. reform, climate change and U.N. peacekeeping operations, Rice said in a statement.

Obama and Ban have said they hope for better relations between Washington and the world body than during the previous administration of President George W. Bush, which was angered by U.N. failure to support the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Obama opposed the invasion.

Ban is particularly hoping for close cooperation in U.N.-led efforts to negotiate a new world climate change pact at talks in Copenhagen in December.

Obama, who took office in January, has signaled a new urgency in tackling climate change. Bush refused to ratify the existing Kyoto Protocol, saying it would put the United States at an economic disadvantage.

The United States is the biggest funder of the United Nations.

Reuters

Güncelleme Tarihi: 07 Mart 2009, 16:15