Biden plans first major foreign policy speech on restoring ‘America’s place’

Biden plans first major foreign policy speech on restoring ‘America’s place’

by

Biden’s speech will have the theme “restoring America’s place in the world”, one of his central campaign promises, and will coincide with his first trip to a Cabinet agency. He plans to visit the State Department to meet newly installed secretary Antony Blinken, said press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday.

Making his first stop there, instead of the Pentagon or the CIA, aims to emphasize Biden’s renewed focus on repairing American alliances and using diplomacy as a tool abroad, an official said.

Although his speech is not expected to outline in detail the details of a new strategy for China, Iran, North Korea, Russia or other US opponents, he will seek to frame his foreign policy around strengthening alliances and returning to multilateralism after the Trump administration, which was marked by unilateral actions and contempt for traditional diplomacy.

Biden has spoken on the phone to about half a dozen foreign counterparts since taking office, but has focused on the public mainly on the coronavirus pandemic and on domestic executive actions. He again joined the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, signaling his intention to renew American commitments abroad.

A draft calendar for the government’s opening days obtained by CNN listed “Restoring America’s place in the world” as the theme for February.

Biden campaigned on the promise to renew American alliances that were damaged by former President Donald Trump. His calls last week to leaders in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan sought to reinforce his promise to strengthen ties with traditional US allies.

He spoke to an opponent – President Vladimir Putin of Russia – on a call described by officials as professional, but direct. The White House said Biden addressed a number of issues, including cybersecurity and the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

Blinken, who took an oath last week, spoke on Sunday against “harsh tactics” used against pro-Navalny protests across Russia.

“We renew our call for Russia to release detainees for exercising their human rights,” he wrote.

The State Department that Biden will visit on Monday suffered a sharp drop in morale under Trump, who liked to refer to the agency as the “Deep State Department” and consistently looked at his career professionals with skepticism.

Last week, Blinken talked about the weather in his first comments to employees and said he was ushering in a new era.

“I know that the State Department that I am meeting today is not the same one that I left four years ago,” referring to his time as deputy secretary of state. “A lot has changed. The world has changed. The Department has changed.”

Biden should thank State Department officials when he visits the building on Monday.

.Source