Newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice presented her credentials to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday and said that President Barack Obama's administration will work closely with the world body on a range of issues. “I come at a time when there are many pressing items on the United Nations agenda, issues that are of central importance to the United States and indeed to the entire world,” Rice said to reporters after her meeting with Ban. “President Obama's view is clear, that our security and well-being can best be advanced in cooperation and in partnership with other nations and there is no more important forum for that effective cooperation than the United Nations,” said Rice, who is first African-American woman named U.N. envoy. “I had an excellent meeting with the secretary general this morning. We had about 45 minutes of detailed discussions. We covered a range of issues including climate change, the millennium development goals, the challenges and importance of U.N. peacekeeping. We touched on non-proliferation, Sudan, and the situation in the Middle East,” Rice said. “The United Nations is a vitally important institution. It has great potential. It still has room for great improvement. And in this regard, with the secretary general, we had an opportunity also to touch on the challenge of how we make the organization more efficient and effective and continue the process of reform, so that it's best-suited to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” Rice added.
