UN chief congratulates Donald Trump on election victory

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secret-General Antonio Guterres has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory as president of the United States, saying he looked forward to working with him.

During his first term 2017-21, Trump had a tense relationship with the U.N. after he cut funding to UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, targeted the World Health Organization (WHO), as also UNESCO.

“I commend the people of the United States of America for their active participation in the democratic process,” the UN chief said in a statement.

Guterres also reaffirmed his “belief that the cooperation between the United States and the United Nations is an essential pillar of international relations.”

“The United Nations stands ready to work constructively with the incoming administration to address the dramatic challenges our world is facing,” it noted.

Trump defeated US Vice President Kamala Harris after winning 277 Electoral College votes in Tuesday’s election. He also led Harris by about 5 million votes in the popular count, getting around 71 million votes.

Trump and his running mate JD Vance will be sworn into office in Washington D.C. on Jan. 20.

Earlier,  Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump again won the race of the presidential election 2024.

Trump achieved 277 votes, whereas only 270 votes were required to win the presidency. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris secured 226 votes.