Acknowledging that obstacles to nuclear disarmament are daunting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday said that it is more imperative than ever to make it a reality given the twin economic and financial crises the world is currently facing.

 “The costs and risks of [disarmament’s] alternatives never get the attention they deserve,” Ban said in his address to the East-West Institute in New York. “But consider the tremendous opportunity cost of huge military budgets.Consider the vast resources that are consumed by the endless pursuit of military superiority.”