US President-elect Joe Biden had congratulatory calls with leaders from France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, during which, in addition to bilateral issues, they discussed efforts to jointly address global challenges such as Covid-19.
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first foreign leader to speak with the president-elect of the United States by phone. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first five world leaders to have a congratulatory call with then-President-elect Donald Trump. Modi was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Twitter. Unlike Trump, Biden has not responded to Twitter greetings from world leaders.
During the call, President-elect Biden thanked President Emmanuel Macron of France for his congratulations and expressed his desire to strengthen relations between the United States and France, its oldest ally. Biden conveyed his interest in revitalizing bilateral and transatlantic relations, including through NATO and the European Union, according to a reading of the call issued by Biden-Harris Transition.
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They talked about cooperating on a variety of shared interests, such as containing Covid-19 and building global health security; address the threat of climate change; strengthen human rights and lay the foundations for a sustainable global economic recovery. Biden also expressed his willingness to work together on global challenges, including security and development in Africa, conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and Iran’s nuclear program, according to the reading.
During the phone call, Biden expressed his gratitude to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her congratulations, praising her leadership and noting that he hoped to strengthen relations between the United States and Germany and revitalize the transatlantic relationship, including through NATO and the EU. . . Biden noted his interest in working closely with Merkel on common interests and challenges, including containing Covid-19; address the climate crisis and work towards a sustainable global economic recovery. It also welcomed the opportunity to cooperate on a shared agenda with the EU.
The president-elect in his call with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, thanked his congratulations and expressed his desire to strengthen the special relationship and redouble cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Biden noted that he especially looks forward to working closely together on global challenges as the UK prepares to host the 2021 G-7 and the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26).
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Among the shared priorities they discussed were containing Covid-19 and promoting global health security; pursue a sustainable economic recovery; combat climate change; strengthen democracy and work together on issues such as the Western Balkans and Ukraine. The president-elect expressed interest in cooperating with the UK, NATO and the EU on shared transatlantic priorities and reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, according to the reading.
According to the Transition team, Biden spoke with Taoiseach Micheál Martin from Ireland, during which he thanked him for his congratulations and highlighted his desire to strengthen the enduring personal, cultural and economic ties between the United States and Ireland.
“He noted that he looked forward to working with the Taoiseach to address shared challenges such as controlling Covid-19; build a sustainable economic recovery and address climate change. He also reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland, ”the reading said.
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