UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has congratulated Donald Trump, a critic of the world organisation’s work, on his re-election as President of the United States and said the UN was ready to “work constructively” with his administration.

“I reaffirm my belief that the cooperation between the United States and the United Nations is an essential pillar of international relations”, he said in his message.

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

He added, “I commend the people of the United States of America for their active participation in the democratic process”.

Trump, a sceptic of both multilateralism and climate change, pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord reached under the auspices of the UN, and the UNESCO.

Guterres’ Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric downplayed the differences of opinion between the Secretary-General and Trump and said that they “had very good relations”.

“The fact that they had different opinions about a number of issues was clear to all. I think the Secretary-General stated his opinions. The US Administration (of Trump) had its policies. It did not stop the Secretary-General from engaging with the United States government, just as all of the previous Secretary-Generals have”, Dujarric said.

Besides being the host of the UN, the US is its biggest funder, contributing 22 per cent of its annual budget and 26 per cent of its peacekeeping budget.

If the US, which is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, leaves the Paris Agreement, Guterres told the Guardian newspaper, the pact would still survive but could be “crippled”.

He told the paper that it was important for Washington to remain in the pact, but more important for it to adopt policies needed to keep global warming under the 1.5 Celsius limit.

Trump said during his campaign that his administration would scrap or limit the measures adopted by President Biden to fight climate change and would encourage drilling for oil and gas.

What a return to Trump’s America First policy at the UN would seem like can be seen in Nikki Haley’s statement on the first day at the UN as the US Cabinet-level post of Permanent Representative to the UN.

She said, “Our goal with the administration is to show value at the UN, and the way to show value is to show our strength, show our full voice.”

To the 193 members of the UN, many of whom often oppose the US, she said, “For those who don’t have our backs, we’re taking names, and we will make points to respond to that accordingly.”

She resigned the position after two years and later made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.