The details of President Joe Biden’s first overseas visit have been finalized for June. The president is expected to meet allies in the UK and in Belgium, Europe. On Friday, White House officials released his schedule. On Thursday, in a virtual summit on climate change with world leaders, Biden said that he would reduce U.S. emissions by at least 50 percent by the end of the decade.
The Biden administration is reaching out to trusted allies who had been accused by former president Donald Trump of not paying their fair share for defense spending. The current president wishes to heal the fractures with some of the country’s oldest allies who had faced a stormy relationship with Trump, with lots of ups and downs.
The itinerary released by the White House is as follows:
- Speaking and meetings at the G-7 Summit between June 11-13
- NATO meeting on June 14
The White House statement said that the president would work to advance the nation’s policy priorities including those on public health, the economy and on private policy. He will also show solidarity and reaffirm shared values with major democracies. White House Secretary, Jen Psaki said that further details about his trip will be released soon and they would include “potential additional elements.”
The President will begin his outreach in Cornwall, which is on the coast of the U.K. and is the venue for the G-7 Summit. He will also hold bilateral talks with Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of UK. He will be first American president and major world leader to visit the island nation after Brexit.
After his visit to Cornwall, President Biden will travel to Belgium, Brussels for the NATO summit. It is being speculated that talks on the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan will be one of the key topics discussed. Another topic might be Russia. Although Russia has pulled back troops from Ukraine, the detention of Alexei Navalny may also be on the agenda.
President Joe Biden has sent out a strong message that he is seeking to mend relations as well as strengthen relations with old and close allies by visiting UK and Europe in June.
