President Joe Biden this week will mark the opening of a new chapter in America’s foreign policy, as he seeks to ease allies’ concerns about recent U.S. actions on the world stage and unite like-minded allies to solve global challenges, also noting a shift away from the 20-year war in Afghanistan, senior administration officials said.
When he heads to the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Monday afternoon, he’ll have his first extended meeting with the U.N. secretary-general, speak before the world’s nations for the first time as president and urge the United States’ allies to do more on issues like climate and COVID-19.
The president is also expected to try and quell concerns from U.S. allies in France, who say they were blindsided about a deal between the U.S. and Australia to share nuclear submarines. As a result, France on Friday recalled its U.S. ambassadors for the first time in decades.
On Monday evening, shortly after arriving in New York, President Biden met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for their first extended one-on-one meeting. Biden pledged that “America is back. We believe in the United Nations and its values.”
Biden, in brief remarks at the start of the meeting, said the assembly’s commitment to achieving “prosperity, peace and security for everyone” was as important as ever with the coronavirus pandemic and climate change casting large shadows around the globe.
“The vision of the United Nations has never been short on ambition, any more than our Constitution,” Biden said. “Ambition matters.”
“Today, governments must continue to work together in a system to built on international law to deliver equitable prosperity, peace and security for everyone,” he continued. “This is as valuable and important today as it was 76 years ago.”
“The secretary-general and I share a strong commitment to the principles of human freedom and human dignity on which the U.N. was founded,” Biden said.
“I have to say that I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet you, as you have clearly affirmed the strong commitment of the United States to the U.N. and to multilateralism – a multilateralism that we also want to see reformed, more effective, and more in line with the need to solve the dramatic problems of this world,” Guterres said.
“The cooperation between the United States and the U.N. is a fundamental pillar for the work of the U.N.,” he added. “The United States, with its strong commitment to human rights; its strong commitment to peace and security in the world, its strong commitment to development, cooperation, and now, with your leadership, a very strong commitment on climate change, the United States represents a fundamental pillar of our activity.”
A senior administration official said earlier Monday that they would cover topics including Afghanistan, Yemen, climate change and COVID-19.
The president’s schedule is as follows:
On Tuesday, the president will address the U.N. General Assembly, a speech in which he will mark the end of 20 years of war and open a new chapter of “intensive diplomacy” by uniting allies “to deal with the major challenges of our time,” the official said. The president will outline a “modern” approach to security challenges and competition, an approach officials said was not the same as a new Cold War.
Biden said Monday evening that it will be a “great honor” to address the U.N. General Assembly.
“I’m looking forward to speaking to the assembly tomorrow — what a great honor that will be,” Biden said.
President Biden will also meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in person on Tuesday, one week after the two countries announced a new security partnership that includes nuclear-powered submarines.
Later Tuesday, he’ll welcome the United Kingdom’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, at the White House for a bilateral meeting, the third leader involved in the new security alliance, called AUKUS.
On Wednesday, the president will host a virtual COVID-19 summit from the White House with several nations. He will call for an “all-hands-on-deck effort” to end the pandemic with a focus on setting “bold goals” on things like vaccinations, medication and other technology.
In that summit, the U.S. is expected to announce “further contributions” to help end the pandemic globally, a few months after President Biden committed 500 million vaccine doses for donation around the world. The Washington Post reported that the U.S. could buy and donate hundreds of millions more.
On Friday, President Biden will convene the first-ever in-person summit of the Quad leaders: the U.S., Australia, India and Japan.
That day, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an engagement with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who he already hosted at the White House earlier this year.
Another key meeting that could happen this week is a phone call between President Biden and French President Emmanual Macron, one week after the U.S. failed to give them proper warning about the deal with Australia.
A senior official said the two leaders have “deep mutual respect” and President Biden hopes to express his commitment to the alliance, which has “fostered security, stability and prosperity around the world for decades.”
And President Biden will certainly address Afghanistan in conversations with allies, some of whom view the U.S. decision to withdraw as unilateral and poorly executed. The president will instead focus on the path forward and ways to partner in the future, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
