President Joe Biden delivers a speech on foreign policy at US State Department, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Washington. (Photo: AP)
Washington (People's Daily) – US President Joe Biden delivered on Thursday his first foreign policy speech since taking office. Biden laid out foreign policy plans to reverse the Trump agenda, including stopping a troop withdrawal from Germany, ending the war in Yemen, and restoring the refugee admissions program.
Biden inspected the State Department and delivered two speeches. In the first speech, Biden told State Department employees, "We're going to reengage the world and take on the enormous challenges we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming and again standing up for democracy and human rights around the world."
In the second speech, Biden outlined his administration’s foreign policy plan. Biden emphasized that “America is back. Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy.”
Biden said that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be leading a global posture review of US forces. “While this review is taking place, we’ll be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from Germany.”
Biden announced that US will step up its diplomacy to end the war in Yemen. “We’re ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arm sales,” he said.
On the same today, Biden approved an executive order to raise the refugee admissions quota to 125,000 people for the first full fiscal year of the Biden-Harris administration. In contrast, during the Trump administration, refugee admissions were limited to 15,000 per year.
Biden also said that he will protect the rights of LGBTQ people around the world.
According National Public Radio (NPR), Biden’s first foreign policy address signals his plans to chart a course away from former President Donald Trump's "America First" approach to foreign policy.
