WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will attend two key summits and visit the Amazon rainforest in South America this month, the White House said Thursday, in a trip totally overshadowed by Donald Trump’s election win.
Biden’s swansong at the G20 summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and the APEC meeting in Lima, Peru will come as world leaders are more focused on how to deal with Trump’s stunning comeback.
“He is planning to attend both conferences,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
The return of Trump’s “America First” agenda to the global stage threatens to upend Biden’s embrace of international alliances on issues ranging from Ukraine and the Middle East to climate change and trade.
Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden will travel to Lima from November 14-16 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) regional forum.
Last year he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California, although there is no word on whether a similar meeting is possible this time.
Biden will then make what the White House said was the first visit by a sitting US president to Manaus in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest to meet indigenous leaders and others working to “protect this critical ecosystem.”
Finally, Biden will attend his last G20 group of nations summit in Rio on November 18 and 19, where the subjects will include climate change, it said.
Biden has spent his four years in office trying to reshape US leadership on the world stage, after the disruption of Trump’s first term as he criticized US allies and courted dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Uncertainty now reigns about what Trump 2.0 will mean for the world.
Trump’s plans for huge tariffs could trigger a trade war with China and badly affect Canada, Mexico, Europe and other trading partners.
Trump is also mooting talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, amid speculation that he will try to push through a peace deal with Ukraine.
Putin has said he will not attend this G20 because it would “wreck” the conference.
Biden to attend South America summits, in Trump’s shadow
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Biden to attend South America summits, in Trump’s shadow
20 nations back Somalia sovereignty, condemn Israeli FM visit to Somaliland as illegal: joint statement
RIYADH: More than twenty nations have reaffirmed Somalia’s sovereignty and denounced the recent visit of Israel’s foreign minister to Somaliland, a separatist region of Somalia, according to a joint statement issued early on Friday.
The nations dismissed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, reaffirmed Somalia’s territorial integrity, and urged Israel to revoke its recognition of Somaliland immediately.
The 21 nations are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djabouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, and Turkiye. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an international body representing most Muslim-majority nations, also endorsed the statement.
The nations condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visit to Somaliland on Tuesday, days after Israel became the only country to formally recognize the break-away region of Somalia.
The statement said that encouraging “secessionist agendas are unacceptable and risk exacerbating tensions in an already fragile region” and praised Somalia’s commitment to peaceful international engagement and adherence to international law.
On Tuesday Saar wrote on X: “We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” alongside images of him meeting the Somaliland leader at the presidential palace.
Saar said Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, had accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to Israel.
Somaliland has denied recognition allows for Israel to establish military bases there or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel has advocated for what Israeli officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.
* With Reuters
