America is back, Biden tells Europe

US President Joe Biden has said the US is returning to the transatlantic partnership and will address global challenges like climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m sending a clear message to the world: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back. And we are not looking backward,” Biden said on Friday in a video message to attendees at the Munich Security Conference, which was held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Xinhua reported.

As the first sitting US President attending this event, Biden said that his administration will work closely with its European Union (EU) partners and the capitals across the continent, stressing that the US is fully committed to its alliance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I know the past few years have strained and tested the transatlantic relationship... The US is determined to re-engage with Europe,” Biden said, referring to the worsened US-Europe relations during the previous administration of President Donald Trump. Washington will work closely with its EU partners to meet the shared challenges and will continue to support the goals of Europe, he said.

Biden also urged the US’ European allies to double down on commitments to fight climate change, warning of a “global existential crisis”.

“We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change,” Biden said, only hours after Washington formally returned to the Paris Accord.

Biden said that the Covid-19 pandemic was an example of an issue that required global cooperation, calling for the reform of the World Health Organization and the building of a United Nations system that focuses on biological threats and can initiate swift action.

Joe Biden pledges $2B for COVAX

US President Joe Biden has announced a pledge of $2 billion for COVAX, the WHO-backed initiative aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines around the world, urging others to step up as well. Biden, according to a press release issued by the US Department of State, said: “I’m announcing that the United States is making a $2 billion pledge to COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access), with the promise of an additional $2 billion to urge others to step up as well.”

Biden on Friday interacted with G7 leaders the 2021 Virtual Munich Security Conference. During the meeting, he said: “My first presidential national security memorandum focused on surging health and humanitarian responses to defeat Covid-19 and to better prevent and prepare for the next pandemic.”

“The Transatlantic Alliance is the strong foundation on which our collective security and our shared prosperity are built. The partnership between Europe and the United States...must remain the cornerstone of all that we hope to accomplish in the 21st century,” he further said. Speaking on the NATO Alliance, Biden said, “The United States will work closely with our European Union partners and the capitals across the continent -- from Rome to Riga -- to meet the range of shared challenges we face. We continue to support the goal of a Europe whole and free and at peace.”

Biden also urged the US’ European allies to double up on commitments to fight climate change, warning of a “global existential crisis”.

“We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change,” Biden said, just hours after Washington formally returned to the Paris Accord.

Biden said that the Covid-19 pandemic was an example of an issue that required global cooperation, calling for the reform of the World Health Organization and the building of a UN system that focuses on biological threats and can initiate swift action.