President Obama, who welcomed Mr Guterres in the White House, said that is was going to be important to have him as the UN general secretary at a time when global concerns and uncertainty are on the increase.

President Obama also said that the UN needed to be more effective economically and have a reformist approach.

Earlier, Guterres also met with the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who said Mr Guterres was "the right man at the right timer”.