Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea held talks with the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon this morning.
According to the Department, the talks between the two men focused on the challenges facing the UN in peacekeeping and Ireland’s long-standing contributions to UN-mandated peacekeeping.
During the meeting, the Minister repeated Ireland's commitment to the United Nations and said that “Ireland has had a deep commitment to supporting UN peacekeeping and international development over the past 50 years, particularly on the African continent.
"This commitment to Africa is evident today in the fact that Ireland’s largest current deployment is in Chad where over 400 of the 750 Irish troops now serving overseas are deployed.”
Mr O’Dea said: “As missions have become more robust and complex we have upgraded the skills and capacity of our Defence Forces to meet the challenges of these modern operations.”
The Minister also thanked Mr Ban for the cooperation shown by the UN in overcoming the difficulties related to the handover from EUFOR to MINURCAT in Chad.
Mr Ban said Ireland was an "exemplary member of the United Nations over many years” and said the State's support and participation was an example to others. The secretary general noted there had been 50 years of Irish UN peacekeeping and that Ireland today participates in nearly 50 per cent of the UN’s missions.
Mr Ban said the UN “face[s] mounting difficulties in getting enough troops, the right equipment and adequate logistical support”. He said he very much welcomed the efforts of the EU in this area and in particular its efforts “to develop the capacity for rapid deployment in support of the UN”.
The UN secretary general also emphasised the challenges facing the United Nations in securing the military assets and support necessary for timely deployments and referred to the difficulty in securing sufficient helicopters for the UN mission to Darfur.
Mr Ban yesterday held a working lunch with the Taoiseach.