US plans $725 mil. payment towards its large UN debt
WASHINGTON/GENEVA — The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725 million to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed. There was no immediate response from Washington to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration which has slashed funding to…
WASHINGTON/GENEVA — The Trump administration has initiated the transfer of $725 million to the United Nations, according to a congressional notification obtained by Reuters. Experts view this as a positive development in addressing the billions in dues owed to the global body. No immediate response has been provided by Washington regarding the motivation behind this payment, particularly from an administration that has reduced funding to numerous U.N. agencies and criticized the organization for not fulfilling its potential.
The funds, mentioned in a State Department notification letter to Congress on August 4, which has not been widely reported, are scheduled to be transferred prior to a projected speech by U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.N. General Assembly in New York next month. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier this year warned that the U.N. was on the brink of financial collapse due to unpaid contributions from member states, and the global organization has implemented significant budget reductions.
The $725 million would constitute less than 20 percent of the over $4 billion that the U.N. reported in May as owed by the United States.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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