President Biden pledged on Saturday to strengthen US relations with the United Kingdom and other NATO allies in a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday.
According to a reading of the call shared by the White House, on the first call with Johnson since the inauguration of Biden, the president “conveyed its intention to strengthen the special relationship between our countries and to revitalize transatlantic ties, emphasizing NATO’s critical role for our collective defense and common values. ”
The White House added that Biden has signaled his willingness to work closely with Johnson, as the UK hosts the G-7 and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this year.
The phone call also included discussions on “the need for coordination on common foreign policy priorities, including China, Iran and Russia”.
Johnson was the first to announce the call on Saturday, tweeting a photo with him on the phone with the president and adding that he looks “Before deepening the long-term alliance between our two countries, as we promote an ecological and sustainable recovery in COVID-19.”
Great to talk to the president @JoeBiden Tonight. I look forward to deepening the long-term alliance between our two countries as we promote an environmentally friendly and sustainable recovery from COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/Y4P3G74PPz
– Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 23, 2021
Former President Trump
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Biden’s call with Johnson Saturday follows his conversation on Friday together with his fellow NATO leader, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
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In the phone call, which was Biden’s first with a foreign leader since taking office, the two agreed to meet next month while Washington and Ottawa are looking for a reset of relations after four years of tension.
Canada has historically been the first trip abroad for any new American president.
Biden, on his first day in office, signaled a desire to return to multilateralism, including through executive action committing the United States to to join the Paris climate agreement, which Trump withdrew from the US after criticizing him for harming American workers.
Biden described the renewed commitment as an advance payment for its climate plan, which calls for placing the country on a path to zero net emissions by 2050.
Biden’s call with Johnson comes as both countries struggle with rising rates of COVID-19 infections, exacerbated by the new strain first found in the UK
Johnson said Friday that there is evidence to suggest that the British strain of coronavirus is spreading faster and has higher mortality rates, although director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins and the leading expert on infectious diseases Anthony Fauci
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