In his first speech on foreign policy at the Department of State, US President Joe Biden on Thursday, 4 February, announced "America is back" and expressed that "diplomacy is back at the centre" of state’s foreign policy.
"We can't do it alone. ... We must start with diplomacy rooted in America's most cherished democratic values: Defending freedom. Championing opportunity. Upholding universal rights. Respecting the rule of law. And treating every person with dignity," Biden said.
He added, “Though many of these values have come under intense pressure in recent years, even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks, the American people are going to emerge from this moment stronger.”
Biden Announces Policy Shifts
In a bid to align the state’s democratic values and diplomatic ambitions, the US president said that the country will end all support for Saudi Arabia's offensive operations in Yemen, one of several changes he announced in his first major foreign-policy speech since taking office.
Among other major policy announcements Biden said while Defense Secretary Lloyd leads a "global force posture review,” the US will "freeze any troop redeployments from Germany ... so our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities."
Further, he also reiterated his campaign promise, announcing his intention to increase the number of refugees admitted into the United States after The Trump administration set a refugee cap of 15,000 for this fiscal year, the lowest since in 4 decades, CNN reported.
"It's going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged. But that's precisely what we're going to do,” Biden said.
‘Reforming Habits of Cooperation’
Acknowledging that the global challenge of “advancing authoritarianism” can only be solved by nations and adversaries working together, Biden said “We can't do it alone.”
He informed that "over the past two weeks, I have spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia, to begin reforming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscle of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect and, I would argue, abuse.”
Speaking on issues arising is the sphere of cyber security and climate objectives, Biden hailed the appointment of the first Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology. "We are launching an urgent initiative to improve our capability, readiness and resilience in cyberspace," he remarked.
Saying that the US “must lead in the face of this (climate change) existential threat”, he added, “We are taking steps led by the example of integrating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy and raise the ambition of our climate targets.” He also announced that the US will host a climate leaders' summit on Earth Day this year.
(With inputs from CNN)
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