Outgoing US President Joe Biden delivered his final foreign policy speech at the State Department in Washington on Monday, a week before handing over power to his Republican successor Donald Trump.
Biden’s speech covered everything from his work to build a strong US alliance to his administration’s policies toward Ukraine and China.
“Compared with four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and adversaries are weaker,” Biden said after receiving a standing ovation from diplomats.
The president said he is “leaving the next administration playing with a much stronger hand,” with an America that is once again leading, uniting countries, setting the agenda, our plans. And bringing others together behind missions.
Gaza ceasefire ‘on the brink’
Biden says a ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war is on the verge of being finalized.
His administration, which has provided billions of dollars in arms aid to Israel since the October 7, 2023 attacks, is “working hard” to close the deal.
Biden said, “The agreement we have (…) will free the hostages, stop the fighting, provide security for Israel, and allow us to significantly increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, who have been in conflict with the Hamas-initiated “Suffered seriously in this war.”
NATO allies are paying ‘fair share’
Over the past four years, the president helped restore U.S. relations with NATO countries that had become strained under Trump.
Biden said partners in the NATO military alliance are “paying their fair share” – a stance Trump does not share.
He said, “Before I took office, nine NATO allies were spending 2% of GDP on defense. Now, 23 allies are spending 2%.”
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Biden also praised his success in preventing Russia from quickly annexing Ukraine after Moscow launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin “invaded Ukraine, he thought he could win”
Kyiv in a few days. The truth is that since the war started, I am the only person who stood in the center of Kiev, not him,” the president said.
China ‘will never be able to overtake us’
The President said that America will remain the world’s leading power.
“According to the latest predictions, on China’s current path they will never be able to overtake us,” Biden said.
He also mentioned his administration’s export regulations on advanced computer chips used in artificial intelligence. The new framework will prevent advanced technology from being shipped to rivals such as China.
Withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan
During Biden’s four years as president, the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after 20 years.
Biden described himself as “the first president in decades who is not leaving the war in Afghanistan to choose a successor.”
The country “got bin Laden during the Obama-Biden administration” and “the primary objective of the war was accomplished.”
“And I believe that going forward, the primary threat from al-Qaeda will not arise from Afghanistan, but from elsewhere. And so we do not need to deploy large numbers of American troops to Afghanistan,” he said.
Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement
The US also re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement during Biden’s presidency.
During his final foreign policy speech, Biden also said climate change skeptics in Trump’s incoming administration are “absolutely wrong.”
Climate change, he said, is “the greatest threat to humanity’s existence.”
Biden said his country must “win” the clean energy competition against China.
Trump will assume the presidency of America on January 20.
ESS/JSI (Reuters, AFP)
