White House Reveals Biden’s First Overseas Trip in Office to UK, EU

Joe Biden will travel to the UK and Brussels, Belgium, for his first overseas trip as president, according to a White House announcement Friday.

In the UK, Biden will attend a summit for the G-7—the intergovernmental organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—from June 11 to June 13. While in Brussels, the president will attend a NATO summit.

The trips “will highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the Transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better secure America’s interests,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki in a statement.

Biden’s attendance at G-7 will “reinforce our commitment to multilateralism” by advancing U.S. policies on climate change, economic recovery, and other topics. While there, Biden will hold meetings with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other G-7 leaders.

Later, Biden and “NATO leaders will discuss how to orient the Alliance to future threats and ensure effective burden sharing,” according to Psaki. “The President will also hold bilateral meetings with fellow NATO leaders.”

Other than climate change and economic recovery, Biden and NATO will “discuss a common agenda to ensure global health security” and will “address mutual foreign policy concerns.”

Most recent American presidents have selected North American countries such as Canada or Mexico for their first cross-border trips. Probably more useful, but…

Source: The White House