Nairobi, Dec 1 (Xinhua) Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has asked the United Nations to mobilise resources to tackle global problems, including high food prices and rampant piracy along the coast of Somalia. A statement from the presidential press service said Kibaki called on the UN to help in coordinating efforts to stabilise global food prices and ensure an efficient movement of food from surplus to deficit nations.

The international community must also address the instability in financial markets, high-energy costs and resultant high food prices through concerted efforts, Kibaki said during a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Doha, Qatar.

The call came as food prices in Kenya threaten to reach crisis proportions.

Kibaki and the UN chief expressed concern at the deteriorating security situation in Somalia.

The Kenyan president asked the UN to support a regional meeting scheduled in Nairobi Dec 9 to discuss piracy, noting that the problem has greatly destabilized the movement of vessels carrying essential supplies to ports along the Indian Ocean.