MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - The newly elected UN secretary general may boost the organization's role in the resolution of global problems, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, 62, who was appointed Friday the next UN secretary-general, became the first Asian to hold the position in 35 years.
"We believe that the new secretary general will be able to effectively perform his difficult duties and give the United Nations a new impulse in resolving global problems facing the humanity with account for the support, which most countries gave to him," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Ban will assume his post January 1, 2007, when Kofi Annan's second five-year term expires and will become the eighth secretary-general in the UN's 60-year history. He will hold this position until December 31, 2011.
