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NEW YORK – (AP) – President Joe Biden planned to use his first address before the United Nations General Assembly reassure other nations of US leadership on the world stage and call on allies to act swiftly and cooperatively to address the lingering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses.
Biden, who arrived in New York on Monday evening to meet with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of Tuesday’s speech, wholeheartedly endorsed the body’s relevance and ambition at a difficult time in history.
The president, in brief remarks at the start of his meeting with Guterres, retracted his mantra that “America is back” – a phrase that has become a presidential shorthand meant to encapsulate his promise to take a radically different approach. with his allies than his predecessor Donald Trump.
“The vision of the United Nations has never been short of ambition, nor has our Constitution,” Biden said.
But the president faced a healthy measure of allied skepticism during his week of high-level diplomacy. The first months of his presidency included a series of difficult times with friendly nations expecting greater cooperation from Biden after four years of Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy.
Eight months into his presidency, Biden has been out of step with his allies over the chaotic end of the US war in Afghanistan. He has faced differences over how to share coronavirus vaccines with the developing world and over travel restrictions in the event of a pandemic. And there are questions about how best to respond to China’s military and economic measures.
Biden also finds himself in the middle of a new diplomatic quarrel with France, America’s oldest ally, after announcing its intention – along with Britain – to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The move is expected to give Australia better patrol capabilities in the Pacific amid growing concerns over the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive tactics, but it upended a French defense contract worth at least $ 66 billion to sell diesel submarines to Australia.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that there had been a “crisis of confidence” with the United States following the episode.
Prior to Biden’s arrival, EU Council President Charles Michel sharply criticized the Biden administration for leaving Europe “out of the game in the Indo-Pacific region” and ignoring the underlying elements of the transatlantic alliance – transparency and loyalty – in the withdrawal from Afghanistan. and the announcement of the US-UK-Australia alliance.
Despite such differences, Biden hoped to use his address to the General Assembly as well as a series of one-on-one and larger meetings with world leaders this week to advocate for American leadership on the world stage.
“There are points of disagreement, including when we disagree with decisions other countries are making, decision points when countries disagree with decisions we are making,” White House Press, Jen Psaki. “But the most important point here… is that we are committed to these alliances, and that still requires the work of every president, of every world leader.”
In an interview before he met Biden, Guterres told The Associated Press that he was concerned about the “completely dysfunctional” relationship between the United States and China and that this could lead to another cold war. Psaki said the administration disagreed with the assessment, adding that the US-China relationship was “not one of conflict but of competition.”
In his remarks on Tuesday, Biden planned to put a strong emphasis on the need for world leaders to work together on the COVID-19 pandemic, to meet past obligations to tackle climate change, to avoid emerging technology problems. and strengthen trade rules, according to White House officials. noted.
Biden was due to release new plans to help the global immunization effort and talk about the U.S. plan to meet its share of financial commitments the U.S. and other developed countries made in 2009 to help poorer countries adopt. clean energy technology, aid that was due to start every year last year, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the president’s remarks.
Prior to his departure, the Biden administration announced its intention to relax overseas travel restrictions in the United States from November. The United States has largely restricted travel by non-U.S. Citizens from Europe since the start of the pandemic, an issue that had become a point of contention in transatlantic relations.
The new rules will allow foreigners to enter if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the White House said on Monday.
Biden planned to limit his time at the United Nations due to coronavirus concerns. He was due to meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in New York before moving the rest of the week’s diplomacy to virtual settings and Washington.
At a COVID-19 virtual summit Biden is hosting on Wednesday, leaders will be asked to step up vaccine-sharing commitments, address global oxygen shortages and address other critical issues related to the pandemic.
The president is also due to meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday at the White House, and invited the prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan – part of a Pacific alliance known as the “Quad” – in Washington on Friday. In addition to the Quad Leaders’ Gathering, Biden will sit for one-on-one meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
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Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press editors Jonathan Lemire in New York and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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