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LONDON: Boris Johnson and Joe Biden vowed on Saturday to deepen ties and cooperate to address climate change in their first conversation since the U.S. president’s inauguration, the British prime minister’s office said.
Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration and “the two leaders looked forward to deepening the close alliance between our nations,” the Downing Street statement said.
British newspapers reported that Johnson was the first European leader to receive a call from Biden, who previously spoke with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts.
The right-wing Sunday Telegraph reported that Johnson was the first leader outside of North America to speak to Biden “after his scheduled call was moved forward two days in what will be seen as a major boost to the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom. U.S”.
Biden spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his first call to a foreign leader on Friday.
The White House in a reading of the call said that Biden “conveyed his intention to strengthen the special relationship between our countries and also” noted the importance of cooperation, including through multilateral organizations, on shared challenges. “
Johnson tweeted a photo of himself in his shirtsleeves laughing while talking on the phone. “It’s great to talk to President @JoeBiden tonight,” he wrote.
The conversation seemed to aim to heat up the icy relationships after Biden in 2019 described Johnson as a “physical and emotional clone” of Donald Trump, his predecessor as president of the United States.
Biden has also been critical of Johnson’s Brexit policy, but the Downing Street statement said the leaders “discussed the benefits of a possible free trade agreement between our two countries.”
Johnson said he intended to resolve current business problems “as soon as possible.”
Biden, who has Irish roots, had warned before his election that if Brexit damaged the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, he would not agree to a trade deal. That agreement ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.
Johnson praised Biden for quickly reversing the political decisions made by his predecessor.
He gave a “warm welcome” to Biden’s decision to re-include the United States in the Paris climate agreement and rejoin the World Health Organization. The prime minister also praised Biden’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Shared challenges
The leaders said they hoped to meet soon and would work together at the United Nations global climate change summit to be held in Scotland in November.
The White House said shared challenges would include “fighting climate change, containing Covid-19 and ensuring global health security” and that Biden intended to “revitalize transatlantic ties, underscoring NATO’s critical role in our defense. collective and shared values ”.
The leaders “re-committed to the NATO alliance” and “shared values in promoting human rights and protecting democracy,” Johnson’s statement added. Trump was highly critical of the transatlantic alliance.
The leaders also agreed on the “significant challenges facing the world during the pandemic.”
The United States has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the world, while the United Kingdom has the highest number of deaths in Europe.
The leaders nonetheless said the pandemic created “unparalleled opportunities to rebuild better and more ecologically together.”
Johnson also praised Biden for joining the Covax Initiative, a global group of coronavirus vaccine doses for the poorest nations.
In addition, the leaders “discussed the need for coordination on shared foreign policy priorities, including China, Iran and Russia,” the White House said. -AFP
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