US to partner with peacekeeping contributing nations: Barack Obama

UNITED NATIONS: The US will partner with several peacekeeping contributing countries like India to enlist new capabilities, infantry, intelligence and troops for strengthening United Nations peacekeeping operations, President Barack Obama said today.

Obama will co-host a UN Peacekeeping Summit later today at the world body's headquarters along with UN, Pakistan and other countries to chart out the way forward to strengthen UN peacekeeping in tackling newer threats to peace from outfits like the ISIS.

"We should celebrate the fact that the United States will join with more than 50 countries to enlist new capabilities, infantry, intelligence, helicopters, hospitals and tens of thousands of troops to strengthen United Nations peacekeeping," Obama said in his address to the General Debate here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the summit.

India is the largest troop contributing country to UN peacekeeping operations and the Prime Minister could use the summit as a platform to raise India's concerns that troop contributing countries are not consulted by the Security Council before authorising peacekeeping mandates.

Obama said the US has joined an international coalition in Libya under a UN mandate to prevent a slaughter.

"Even as we helped the Libyan people bring an end to the reign of a tyrant, our coalition could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind.

"But we also have to recognise that we must work more effectively in the future as an international community to build capacity for states that are in distress before they collapse," he said.