******** Obama's Europe Trip--A Family Bonding with Moneygall ************
President Barack Obama is scheduled to take an emotional trip to the Irish village of Moneygall as part of his week-long, four-country trip to Europe. Fulmouth Kearney, who had immigrated to the United States in 1850 at the age of 19, hailed from Moneygall and is the third-great-grandfather of Obama on his mother's side.
* May 23, 2011
-- Arrives in Dublin.
-- Meets with President Mary McAleese and PM Enda Kenny
-- Visits the village of Moneygail
* May 24, 2011
-- Arrives in London
-- Tours Buckingham Palace
-- Meets PM David Cameron
-- State Dinner
* May 26-27, 2011
-- G-8 Summit at Deauville, France
* May 27-28, 2011
-- Visits to Poland
-- Meeting with President Bronislaw Komorowski and PM Donald Tusk
-- Laying a wreath at the tomb of former President Lech Kaczynski
******** Obama's Europe Trip--A Family Bonding with Moneygall ************
President Obama's Asia-Pacific Trip
President Barack Obama, according to The Dallas Morning News dated November 11, 2011, will take an eight-day (November 11-18, 2011) trip through a region that has grown in stature and strategic importance in recent years. His trip will take him to Honolulu, site of APEC, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, summit, Australia and his one-time childhood country, Indonesia.
* November 12: Hosts meeting of nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new trade alliance, at Honolulu.
* November 13: 21-nation APEC Summit at Honolulu.
* November 14-17: Visit to Australia
* November 17-18: Visit to Indonesia, with a landmark East Asia Summit on November 18 in Bali.
On November 12, 2011, President Obama unveiled a broad framework of an agreement for a new Asia-Pacific trade zone. The nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership includes, beside the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda, during a November 12, 2011, meeting with President Obama at Honolulu, expressed interest to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On November 16, 2011, President Barack Obama and Australian PM Julia Gillard signed a strategic agreement that would station 2,500 U.S. troops in the region, largest troops expansion since the end of Vietnam War. On November 17, 2011, addressing the Australiian parliament, President Obama made it known that US would "play a larger and long-term role in shaping the region and its future".
President Obama on November 18, 2011 attended the summit of ASEAN, or Association of South East Asian Nations, which includes, beside host Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. The 10-nation ASEAN would expand for an East Asia Summit that also includes China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealannd, Russia and the US as member states.
************** OBAMA'S FAR EAST TRIP TO ATTEND APEC AND G-20 SUMMIT*****
Questions over President's Authority and Clout in the Run-up to the Far East Trip
As President Barack Obama on November 9, 2014 embarked on a week-long trip to China, Myanmar and Australia, questions arose over what kind of mandate president had and world leaders would view him in the wake of the recent drubbing at the mid-term polls. His first stop is in Beijing, where he will attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit.
Meanwhile, in a groundbreaking diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping played the host of an embracing and productive host to Japanese premier Shinzo Abe on November 10, 2014 as both leaders met on the sidelines of the APEC summit to thaw the bilateral relationship that had been near all-time low over issues such as dispute over an uninhabited island chain in East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese, or Diayou in Chinese, Japanese premier's frequent visit to a shrine of war criminals and other tensions. On November 7, 2014, both sides issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of joint work to promote economic, security and diplomatic cooperation.
US-CHINA JOINT VOW TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES
On the sidelines of APEC summit, US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint declaration on November 11, 2014, vowing to do their best to reduce global warming. Among the measures to be taken by
USA include
(1) Reduction of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared to the 2005 level
(2) Doubling the reduction rate of greenhouse gases to 2.3 percent to 2.8 percent
(3) Submission of 2025 US greenhouse gas reduction target to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty nations hope to finalize later in 2015 at Paris, by the first quarter of 2015
China include
(1) Setting a target of CO2 emissions to peak around 2030
(2) Expanding the share of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2030
President's Trip to Myanmar Raises Hope As Well As Frustration
President Barack Obama's Myanmar visit raises the profile of the once-isolated country in international community while the human rights activists complain of backsliding in democratic rights and discriminatory treatment against the minority Ronghiya Muslims. Although the president was on hand at the country's capital, Naypyitaw, to discuss official issues, including his meeting with the country's president Thein Sein, his high-profile meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi took place at her lakeside home at Yangon on November 14, 2014.
Russian Warships off Australian Coasts as Leaders Gather for G-20 Summit
As world leaders began to arrive at Brisbane for an important G-20 weekend summit (November 14-16, 2014), Australian premier Tony Abbott took swipe at the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would also participate in the summit, for the recent arrival of two Russian ships off the north-western coast of Australia. Abbott said that it would be better for Moscow to focus on its deteriorating economy instead of its effort to regain its "lost glory", referring to the Soviet past. Abbott took an increasingly hardline against Moscow after the downing of Malaysian airline in Eastern Ukraine in July 2014, and vowed in the past that he would personally confront the Russian president to seek justice.
************** OBAMA'S FAR EAST TRIP TO ATTEND APEC AND G-20 SUMMIT*****
*********************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AFRICA TRIP **********************
Obama Calls for Tolerance for Gays
Visiting his father's birth nation for the first time as sitting president, Barack Obama on July 25, 2015 called for tolerance and respect for gays in Kenya. However, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was less committal.
Obama Presses for South Sudan Peace
Addressing the region's leaders at a conference at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Barack Obama on July 27, 2015 called for end of violence and a verifiable peace accord in South Sudan as world's patience with warring parties was running thin in each passing day. President Obama called out two nations, Uganda and Sudan, direct benefactors of the government and rebels, respectively, to do more in reining in the violence.
*********************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AFRICA TRIP **********************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HISTORIC CUBA TRIP ****************
Obama Begins Cuba Trip amid Crackdown on Dissidence
President Barack Obama arrived at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport on March 20, 2016 for a three-day official visit, first such official visit by a sitting U.S. president in almost eight decades since Calvin Coolidge had visited Cuba in January 1928, amid arrest of dozens of protesters from a well-known dissident group, Ladies in White, that's known to hold Sunday rallies at Havana. President Obama is scheduled to meet a group of dissidents on March 22, 2016, including Ladies in White's leader Berta Soler. Upon his arrival, President Obama took a stroll through Old Havana, visited the U.S. Embassy on the Malecon seafront boulevard on Havana Bay and met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, a key architect of the drive to normalize relations between Cuba and the USA, at the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception. President Obama's family accompanied in this historic trip.
Unprecedented Manifestation of Democracy in the Open Display
It's not that after President Barack Obama's three-day visit, Cuba will begin overnight to work on expanding democracy and freedom of speech. It may be just cosmetic, full of symbolism, instead of substantive, any talk on democratic progress and political pluralism. However, there is absolutely no denial that thanks to Obama's March 20-22, 2016, visit, Cuban people have got a unique opportunity to see how their leader reacts when confronted by uncomfortable questions. That moment of awkwardness for many and relishing freedom of speech, irrespective of however little and constrained it is, for others has come as handy during a joint press conference by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on March 21, 2016. After an one-on-one, two-hour session between the leaders at the Palace of Revolution, where Obama had a frank and candid discussion on Cuba's human rights, democracy and freedom of speech, both leaders fielded questions from foreign reporters. While Obama was at ease to respond most of the questions, it was a new test for Castro as he was not used to be challenged by reporters. During press conference that was televised live, both leaders sparred over Guantanamo Bay, a strip of Cuban land under control by the USA as part of a 1903 lease agreement with any cancellation to be effective only by the approval of both parties, democracy and other issues. When asked by a CNN reporter, Jim Acosta, whose father had emigrated from Cuba, on the island nation's political prisoners, Raul Castro shot back, saying if the correspondent could give "me a list, right now". President Obama's second day in Cuba on March 21, 2016 began with a visit to the Plaza of the Revolution, where he had placed a wreath at the monument of 19th century Cuban independence hero Jose Marti. Since the surprise announcement in December 2014 to restore relations between the two nations, Obama administration took concrete regulatory steps through Commerce and Treasury departments publication five times to ease travel and financial transactions.
Obama Declares an End to Cold War with Cuba
Wrapping up his three-day historic visit to Cuba, President Barack Obama on March 22, 2016 declared an end to the "last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas" and urged the Cubans to pursue a more democratic society. During the day, President Obama met with 13 Cuban dissidents at the U.S. embassy, and took some site seeing trip. Also Presidents Obama and Castro enjoyed a game between Tampa Rays and Cuba's National Baseball team on March 22, 2016.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HISTORIC CUBA TRIP ****************
************************ PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ARGENTINA VISIT ****************
Obama's Argentina Visit Stokes Bitter Memories
Though new Argentine President Mauricio Macri intended to showcase the U.S. President Barack Obama's state visit as a reflection of his young administration's progress in addressing the bitter acrimony with the international creditors and setting priorities on a look-forward approach, both the timing and the backdrop of Obama's visit instead took the Latin American nation to a few decades backward by reminding Argentines the dark past of America's collusion with the so-called Dirty War (1976-83). Obama landed on Buenos Aires two days before March 24, 2016, 40th anniversary of the military coup that hurtled the nation into the so-called "Dirty War". The era of "Dirty War" was marked by extrajudicial killings of about 30,000 political dissidents, most of them were Leftist activists, although the official figure stood at 13,000 deaths.
Obama Admits Past Mistakes
On the eve of 40th anniversary of the so-called Dirty War, President Barack Obama said on March 23, 2016 that the U.S. role during those days of darkness had damaged the country's image among common Argentines, and hoped that release of the confidential files covering that era would restore and rebuild confidence between the two nations. President Obama's comments came during a joint press conference with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, whom Obama called "a man in a hurry" and praised his leadership on acting quickly to improve relationship with Washington, at Casa Rosada, Argentina's presidential palace. Also, during the day, Obama addressed a town hall meeting of young people, an emblematic of most of the Obama's foreign visits.
Obama Regrets Argentina's "Dirty War"
Reflecting and remembering on a solemn day that marked the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the so-called "Dirty War", the visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on March 24, 2016 expressed his profound regret for the U.S. failure at that time to acknowledge the brutal repression and atrocities. Obama visited the memorial for the victims, Rio de la Plata, with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, and each leader threw three white roses into the water from an over-bridge to honor the victims. It was a moment of pause, posture and prudence for both the leaders to show the world that the bonhomie of the two nations during those Dirty War years (1976-83) was indeed a dark chapter of past relations shaped by the bitterness of Cold War rather than an evolving collaborative partnership of present time to grow the economic opportunity and prosperity of Americas. Also came on the heels of his Argentina trip Obama's announcement that his administration would "declassify" secret files and memo more quickly.
************************ PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ARGENTINA VISIT ****************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SAUDI ARABIA VISIT *****************
Obama Meets with Saudi King Amid a Faltering Relationship
President Barack Obama on April 20, 2016 met with Saudi King Salman for a two-hour closed door session in which both leaders discussed some of the thorny issues that had shaped up the bilateral relations between the nations. On the top of that list was, of course, Iran in the background of recent withdrawal of economic sanctions by the west. Also, Saudi Arabia was rattled by recent Congressional move to hold the Gulf Kingdom accountable for its role in 9/11 attack. During his two-hour meeting at Riyadh, Obama reiterated his stand that the Persian Gulf nations would be well served if they ramped up their own security instead of relying on the US, a theme he had penned down in an article recently published by The Atlantic. Often Obama administration refers the Gulf nations as "free-riders" for their over-dependence on the USA for their security. As part of Obama's six-day trip to middle-east and Europe, the president will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Riyadh on April 21, 2016. A day before the Obama would attend the two-day GCC meeting, President Obama, beside King Salman, also met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Obama Says USA's Desire to Have Gulf Nations' Back
President Barack Obama on April 21, 2016 attended the GCC summit at Riyadh, and said that US still had the Persian Gulf nations' back. However, Obama indirectly prodded the Gulf nations to lessen the degree of dependence on the US for their collective security.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SAUDI ARABIA VISIT *****************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S U.K. VISIT ***************************
President Obama Dines with Royals
President Barack Obama, after a hectic diplomacy with the Gulf leaders at Riyadh, took his next leg of his trip to Britain with an appearance of part diplomacy, part lecturing to British public on the necessity of remaining part of EU and part hobnobbing with the glamorous royal company. On April 22, 2016, President Obama accompanied by the First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at the Windsor Castle by helicopter, and received by the Queen Elizabeth II. America's First Family had lunch with the Queen, and the day ended with a royal dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry, at the Kensington Palace.
Obama Wraps up Britain Visit with a Trip to a Historic Theater
President Barack Obama spent April 23, 2016 in host of events, including playing Golf, watching the drama Hamlet and reflecting on his legacy at a town hall meeting. President Barack Obama stopped by London's Globe Theater to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S U.K. VISIT ***************************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GERMAN VISIT **********************
President Obama Addresses EU
President Barack Obama on late April 23, 2016 arrived at Hanover, Germany to address an E.U. Summit. Obama on April 24, 2016 strongly defended German Chancellor Angela Merkel's leadership.
Obama Announces Troops Boost in Syria
Underscoring the stake to fight against ISIL, President Barack Obama, standing beside European leaders such as David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, announced on April 25, 2016 the fivefold increase of troops in Syria from 50 to 300. The venue of the troops surge announcement was deliberate as President made it at Hanover, Germany in the midst of a summit. President Obama, who in recent days had rattled leaders from the Middle East and Europe by calling them the so-called "free riders", made an indirect reference on April 25, 2016 in his address as he said that "sometimes Europe has been complacent about its own defense" and implored the European leaders to contribute more troops to fight the ISIL. The troop surge will include special operations forces who will assist the local security as well as logistics and maintenance personnel.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GERMAN VISIT **********************
****************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S MAY 2016 ASIA TRIP *********************
Five GOP Senators Asks President on Vietnam's Human Rights Records
As President Barack Obama on May 21, 2016 departed for a weeklong, high-profile Asia visit to drum up support for Trans-Pacific Pact, coalescing a loose alliance of the region's nations in a unity to stand up to an asserting China and fostering a coherent policy against terrorism, five Republican senators--Marco Rubio of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas, John Boozman of Arkansas, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana--wrote a letter to Obama to press Vietnamese leaders for more human and democratic rights, labeling the country as "one of the most repressive nations in the world". Sensing a probable presidential nudge on its human rights record, Vietnam on May 20, 2016 released one of country's most prominent Catholic priests, Rev. Nguyen Van Ly, 70, of the Catholic archdiocese of the central city of Hue, from jail.
Obama Writes a New Chapter on Vietnam
President Barack Obama arrived at Hanoi on late May 22, 2016 for a three-day visit that's emblematic of President's repeated call and action to make Asia the political "pivot", especially in the light of an aggressive and assertive China. On May 23, 2016, the first full day of presidential itinerary, President Obama rescinded an almost half-century arms embargo on the country. Although President Obama was emphatic at a press conference during the day that the (lifting of arms embargo) action had nothing to do with China, but rather based "on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam", that rationale had few takers as there was no significant visible progress of Vietnamese human records over the past few years that would trigger the lifting of embargo. It's widely believed that USA, in exchange for lifting of arms embargo, will gain access to the port of Cam Ranh Bay. although no announcement to this effect was made during the joint press conference of President Obama and the Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. One of the salient gains for Vietnam was President Obama's announcement of $16 billion in commercial package involving sales of 100 Boeing aircraft and 135 Pratt and Whitney engines to the country's low-cost carrier, VietJet.
Obama Meets Dissidents, Calls for more Openness
On May 23, 2016, President Obama met with about half-a-dozen prominent dissidents at a Hanoi hotel. However, many of the others, including a businessman, Nguyen Quang, 69, who had unsuccessfully tried to run for a parliamentary seat as an independent before being disqualified, and a prominent blogger and journalist, Pham Doan Trang, who had flown from Ho Chi Minh City, were barred from meeting the president at the hotel. Later touching on the obstructionist measure put forward by the government to bar dissidents from meeting the visiting president, Obama, addressing an auditorium full of crowd at the National Convention Center, said that it was important to have a society to promote human rights and free exchange of ideas in order to prosper. He also took a swipe at China for bullying "smaller" nations in the region.
President Arrives at Japan amid Murder Charges against American Security Contractor
President Barack Obama arrived at Nagoya, Japan on May 25, 2016 to attend G-7 summit that was scheduled to begin on May 26, 2016. President Obama was received at the airport by the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Ed Schlossberg. However, President's Japan visit was overshadowed by the controversy and anger generated by the recent killing of an Okinawa woman, Rina Shimabukuro, 20, by an American private contractor, 32-year-old Kenneth Shinzato, a former U.S. Marine. Rina Shimabukuro's body was found last week in a forest several weeks after she had disappeared on April 28, 2016 during her walk. The subsequent arrest of Shinzato evoked a very strong reaction and condemnation from Japanese across the political spectrum, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue with Obama on May 25, 2016 during an official dinner. President Obama expressed his "deepest regrets" to the "unforgivable crime", in the words of premier Abe, committed by Kenneth Shinzato.
G-7 Summit: President Reminds the Nuclear Risk
President Barack Obama met with six other world leaders at the G-7 Summit at Shima. The two-day summit (May 26-27, 2016) touched a wide range of issues such as nuclear proliferation, global economic growth, trade deals, including Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and terrorism. In the morning of the opening day of the summit, leaders were transported to Isa Shrine, one of Japan's holiest places, where Shinto priests greeted the leaders.
An Emotional Appearance of Obama at Hiroshima
In a vividly emotional and historic appearance, President Barack Obama on May 27, 2016 visited Hiroshima as the first sitting U.S. President to pay respect for the victims of the atomic bomb. Although President Obama didn't apologize for the atomic bomb that had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima and another atomic bomb that had killed up to 80,000 people in Nagasaki, 260 miles away, he was candid about the danger of nuclear proliferation with his emphatic call for a "moral revolution" against any recurrence of what had happened 71 years ago when "death fell from the sky, and the world was changed". President Barack Obama placed a white-and-yellow wreath in front of the monument, and later met one of the survivors, Sunao Tsuboi, a chairman of the Hiroshima branch of Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization.
****************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S MAY 2016 ASIA TRIP *********************
********************************* TRUMP PRESIDENCY **************************
Saudi Arabia
Trump's First Foreign Trip Begins with a Big Bilateral Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump began his first foreign trip with his "strategic vision" of inking a bilateral deal of $110 billion arms sales to Saudi Arabia on May 20, 2017. Trump had arrived at the Mubaraka Palace in Riyadh to a royal reception of pomp and prestige, and as he and King Salman had signed the arms deal as well as other commercial deals valued at more than $250 billion, a new bond between the allies was built after a years-long strained relationship under Obama presidency. Describing the scale of the deal's impact, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference that "this is unprecedented".
Trump Resets America's Relationship with Muslim World
Eight years after the then-President Barack Obama had addressed the Muslim World with his inspiring Cairo speech to put forward a way to smoothen over often tense relationship that had come to define the relationship that the Islamic World had at that time with the west , President Donald Trump rump tried to recast the narrative in a similar manner on May 21, 2017. At a gathering of the leaders of the Muslim World at Riyadh, President Trump described the fight against terrorism as a battle between good and evil, steering away from any religious undertone that he had often inflamed in the campaign trail. The main achievement of the day was an agreement between Saudi Arabia and USA to launch a joint Terrorist Financing Targeting Center to monitor the money trail of funding of the terrorist networks. During the day, President Trump met with the leaders of the Gulf nations Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar as well as Egypt in addition to taking a trip to the Riyadh-based, newly opened Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology.
ISRAEL
Trump Begins Two-Day Historic Israeli Visit
U.S. President Donald Trump on May 22, 2017 embarked upon a two-day historic trip to Israel amidst increased uncertainty and a stalled peace process. Trump on May 22, 2017 visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, most sacred in Judaism. However, later in the day, he gave a blunt assessment to the future of Palestinian-Israeli crisis.
President Visit's Holocaust Memorial, Urges Sides to Work Together without Specifics
President Donald Trump on May 23, 2017 visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem with the First Lady Melania Trump, and laid wreath on a stone slab that was on the top of ashes of some Jews killed in Hitler's concentration camp. President Trump during the day met with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and called both sides to put aside the "pain and disagreement of the past", without being specific on how to exactly do that. Later in the day, he left for Europe.
EUROPE
Trump, Pope Attempts to Bridge the Divide
U.S. President Donald Trump on May 24, 2017 met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and tried to put a face of unifying message to the world in the backdrop of souring relationship during 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign that had drawn a pontificate rebuke for Trump's often inflammatory anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric.
****************** TRUMP'S FIRST FOREIGN TRIP AS PRESIDENT *****************
****************** TRUMP'S VISIT TO POLAND AND GERMANY *******************
President Barack Obama is scheduled to take an emotional trip to the Irish village of Moneygall as part of his week-long, four-country trip to Europe. Fulmouth Kearney, who had immigrated to the United States in 1850 at the age of 19, hailed from Moneygall and is the third-great-grandfather of Obama on his mother's side.
* May 23, 2011
-- Arrives in Dublin.
-- Meets with President Mary McAleese and PM Enda Kenny
-- Visits the village of Moneygail
* May 24, 2011
-- Arrives in London
-- Tours Buckingham Palace
-- Meets PM David Cameron
-- State Dinner
* May 26-27, 2011
-- G-8 Summit at Deauville, France
* May 27-28, 2011
-- Visits to Poland
-- Meeting with President Bronislaw Komorowski and PM Donald Tusk
-- Laying a wreath at the tomb of former President Lech Kaczynski
******** Obama's Europe Trip--A Family Bonding with Moneygall ************
President Obama's Asia-Pacific Trip
President Barack Obama, according to The Dallas Morning News dated November 11, 2011, will take an eight-day (November 11-18, 2011) trip through a region that has grown in stature and strategic importance in recent years. His trip will take him to Honolulu, site of APEC, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, summit, Australia and his one-time childhood country, Indonesia.
* November 12: Hosts meeting of nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new trade alliance, at Honolulu.
* November 13: 21-nation APEC Summit at Honolulu.
* November 14-17: Visit to Australia
* November 17-18: Visit to Indonesia, with a landmark East Asia Summit on November 18 in Bali.
On November 12, 2011, President Obama unveiled a broad framework of an agreement for a new Asia-Pacific trade zone. The nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership includes, beside the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda, during a November 12, 2011, meeting with President Obama at Honolulu, expressed interest to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On November 16, 2011, President Barack Obama and Australian PM Julia Gillard signed a strategic agreement that would station 2,500 U.S. troops in the region, largest troops expansion since the end of Vietnam War. On November 17, 2011, addressing the Australiian parliament, President Obama made it known that US would "play a larger and long-term role in shaping the region and its future".
President Obama on November 18, 2011 attended the summit of ASEAN, or Association of South East Asian Nations, which includes, beside host Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. The 10-nation ASEAN would expand for an East Asia Summit that also includes China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealannd, Russia and the US as member states.
************** OBAMA'S FAR EAST TRIP TO ATTEND APEC AND G-20 SUMMIT*****
Questions over President's Authority and Clout in the Run-up to the Far East Trip
As President Barack Obama on November 9, 2014 embarked on a week-long trip to China, Myanmar and Australia, questions arose over what kind of mandate president had and world leaders would view him in the wake of the recent drubbing at the mid-term polls. His first stop is in Beijing, where he will attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit.
Meanwhile, in a groundbreaking diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping played the host of an embracing and productive host to Japanese premier Shinzo Abe on November 10, 2014 as both leaders met on the sidelines of the APEC summit to thaw the bilateral relationship that had been near all-time low over issues such as dispute over an uninhabited island chain in East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese, or Diayou in Chinese, Japanese premier's frequent visit to a shrine of war criminals and other tensions. On November 7, 2014, both sides issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of joint work to promote economic, security and diplomatic cooperation.
US-CHINA JOINT VOW TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES
On the sidelines of APEC summit, US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint declaration on November 11, 2014, vowing to do their best to reduce global warming. Among the measures to be taken by
USA include
(1) Reduction of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared to the 2005 level
(2) Doubling the reduction rate of greenhouse gases to 2.3 percent to 2.8 percent
(3) Submission of 2025 US greenhouse gas reduction target to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty nations hope to finalize later in 2015 at Paris, by the first quarter of 2015
China include
(1) Setting a target of CO2 emissions to peak around 2030
(2) Expanding the share of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2030
President's Trip to Myanmar Raises Hope As Well As Frustration
President Barack Obama's Myanmar visit raises the profile of the once-isolated country in international community while the human rights activists complain of backsliding in democratic rights and discriminatory treatment against the minority Ronghiya Muslims. Although the president was on hand at the country's capital, Naypyitaw, to discuss official issues, including his meeting with the country's president Thein Sein, his high-profile meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi took place at her lakeside home at Yangon on November 14, 2014.
Russian Warships off Australian Coasts as Leaders Gather for G-20 Summit
As world leaders began to arrive at Brisbane for an important G-20 weekend summit (November 14-16, 2014), Australian premier Tony Abbott took swipe at the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would also participate in the summit, for the recent arrival of two Russian ships off the north-western coast of Australia. Abbott said that it would be better for Moscow to focus on its deteriorating economy instead of its effort to regain its "lost glory", referring to the Soviet past. Abbott took an increasingly hardline against Moscow after the downing of Malaysian airline in Eastern Ukraine in July 2014, and vowed in the past that he would personally confront the Russian president to seek justice.
************** OBAMA'S FAR EAST TRIP TO ATTEND APEC AND G-20 SUMMIT*****
*********************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AFRICA TRIP **********************
Obama Calls for Tolerance for Gays
Visiting his father's birth nation for the first time as sitting president, Barack Obama on July 25, 2015 called for tolerance and respect for gays in Kenya. However, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was less committal.
Obama Presses for South Sudan Peace
Addressing the region's leaders at a conference at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Barack Obama on July 27, 2015 called for end of violence and a verifiable peace accord in South Sudan as world's patience with warring parties was running thin in each passing day. President Obama called out two nations, Uganda and Sudan, direct benefactors of the government and rebels, respectively, to do more in reining in the violence.
*********************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AFRICA TRIP **********************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HISTORIC CUBA TRIP ****************
Obama Begins Cuba Trip amid Crackdown on Dissidence
President Barack Obama arrived at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport on March 20, 2016 for a three-day official visit, first such official visit by a sitting U.S. president in almost eight decades since Calvin Coolidge had visited Cuba in January 1928, amid arrest of dozens of protesters from a well-known dissident group, Ladies in White, that's known to hold Sunday rallies at Havana. President Obama is scheduled to meet a group of dissidents on March 22, 2016, including Ladies in White's leader Berta Soler. Upon his arrival, President Obama took a stroll through Old Havana, visited the U.S. Embassy on the Malecon seafront boulevard on Havana Bay and met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, a key architect of the drive to normalize relations between Cuba and the USA, at the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception. President Obama's family accompanied in this historic trip.
Unprecedented Manifestation of Democracy in the Open Display
It's not that after President Barack Obama's three-day visit, Cuba will begin overnight to work on expanding democracy and freedom of speech. It may be just cosmetic, full of symbolism, instead of substantive, any talk on democratic progress and political pluralism. However, there is absolutely no denial that thanks to Obama's March 20-22, 2016, visit, Cuban people have got a unique opportunity to see how their leader reacts when confronted by uncomfortable questions. That moment of awkwardness for many and relishing freedom of speech, irrespective of however little and constrained it is, for others has come as handy during a joint press conference by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on March 21, 2016. After an one-on-one, two-hour session between the leaders at the Palace of Revolution, where Obama had a frank and candid discussion on Cuba's human rights, democracy and freedom of speech, both leaders fielded questions from foreign reporters. While Obama was at ease to respond most of the questions, it was a new test for Castro as he was not used to be challenged by reporters. During press conference that was televised live, both leaders sparred over Guantanamo Bay, a strip of Cuban land under control by the USA as part of a 1903 lease agreement with any cancellation to be effective only by the approval of both parties, democracy and other issues. When asked by a CNN reporter, Jim Acosta, whose father had emigrated from Cuba, on the island nation's political prisoners, Raul Castro shot back, saying if the correspondent could give "me a list, right now". President Obama's second day in Cuba on March 21, 2016 began with a visit to the Plaza of the Revolution, where he had placed a wreath at the monument of 19th century Cuban independence hero Jose Marti. Since the surprise announcement in December 2014 to restore relations between the two nations, Obama administration took concrete regulatory steps through Commerce and Treasury departments publication five times to ease travel and financial transactions.
Obama Declares an End to Cold War with Cuba
Wrapping up his three-day historic visit to Cuba, President Barack Obama on March 22, 2016 declared an end to the "last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas" and urged the Cubans to pursue a more democratic society. During the day, President Obama met with 13 Cuban dissidents at the U.S. embassy, and took some site seeing trip. Also Presidents Obama and Castro enjoyed a game between Tampa Rays and Cuba's National Baseball team on March 22, 2016.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HISTORIC CUBA TRIP ****************
************************ PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ARGENTINA VISIT ****************
Obama's Argentina Visit Stokes Bitter Memories
Though new Argentine President Mauricio Macri intended to showcase the U.S. President Barack Obama's state visit as a reflection of his young administration's progress in addressing the bitter acrimony with the international creditors and setting priorities on a look-forward approach, both the timing and the backdrop of Obama's visit instead took the Latin American nation to a few decades backward by reminding Argentines the dark past of America's collusion with the so-called Dirty War (1976-83). Obama landed on Buenos Aires two days before March 24, 2016, 40th anniversary of the military coup that hurtled the nation into the so-called "Dirty War". The era of "Dirty War" was marked by extrajudicial killings of about 30,000 political dissidents, most of them were Leftist activists, although the official figure stood at 13,000 deaths.
Obama Admits Past Mistakes
On the eve of 40th anniversary of the so-called Dirty War, President Barack Obama said on March 23, 2016 that the U.S. role during those days of darkness had damaged the country's image among common Argentines, and hoped that release of the confidential files covering that era would restore and rebuild confidence between the two nations. President Obama's comments came during a joint press conference with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, whom Obama called "a man in a hurry" and praised his leadership on acting quickly to improve relationship with Washington, at Casa Rosada, Argentina's presidential palace. Also, during the day, Obama addressed a town hall meeting of young people, an emblematic of most of the Obama's foreign visits.
Obama Regrets Argentina's "Dirty War"
Reflecting and remembering on a solemn day that marked the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the so-called "Dirty War", the visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on March 24, 2016 expressed his profound regret for the U.S. failure at that time to acknowledge the brutal repression and atrocities. Obama visited the memorial for the victims, Rio de la Plata, with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, and each leader threw three white roses into the water from an over-bridge to honor the victims. It was a moment of pause, posture and prudence for both the leaders to show the world that the bonhomie of the two nations during those Dirty War years (1976-83) was indeed a dark chapter of past relations shaped by the bitterness of Cold War rather than an evolving collaborative partnership of present time to grow the economic opportunity and prosperity of Americas. Also came on the heels of his Argentina trip Obama's announcement that his administration would "declassify" secret files and memo more quickly.
************************ PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ARGENTINA VISIT ****************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SAUDI ARABIA VISIT *****************
Obama Meets with Saudi King Amid a Faltering Relationship
President Barack Obama on April 20, 2016 met with Saudi King Salman for a two-hour closed door session in which both leaders discussed some of the thorny issues that had shaped up the bilateral relations between the nations. On the top of that list was, of course, Iran in the background of recent withdrawal of economic sanctions by the west. Also, Saudi Arabia was rattled by recent Congressional move to hold the Gulf Kingdom accountable for its role in 9/11 attack. During his two-hour meeting at Riyadh, Obama reiterated his stand that the Persian Gulf nations would be well served if they ramped up their own security instead of relying on the US, a theme he had penned down in an article recently published by The Atlantic. Often Obama administration refers the Gulf nations as "free-riders" for their over-dependence on the USA for their security. As part of Obama's six-day trip to middle-east and Europe, the president will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Riyadh on April 21, 2016. A day before the Obama would attend the two-day GCC meeting, President Obama, beside King Salman, also met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Obama Says USA's Desire to Have Gulf Nations' Back
President Barack Obama on April 21, 2016 attended the GCC summit at Riyadh, and said that US still had the Persian Gulf nations' back. However, Obama indirectly prodded the Gulf nations to lessen the degree of dependence on the US for their collective security.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SAUDI ARABIA VISIT *****************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S U.K. VISIT ***************************
President Obama Dines with Royals
President Barack Obama, after a hectic diplomacy with the Gulf leaders at Riyadh, took his next leg of his trip to Britain with an appearance of part diplomacy, part lecturing to British public on the necessity of remaining part of EU and part hobnobbing with the glamorous royal company. On April 22, 2016, President Obama accompanied by the First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at the Windsor Castle by helicopter, and received by the Queen Elizabeth II. America's First Family had lunch with the Queen, and the day ended with a royal dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry, at the Kensington Palace.
Obama Wraps up Britain Visit with a Trip to a Historic Theater
President Barack Obama spent April 23, 2016 in host of events, including playing Golf, watching the drama Hamlet and reflecting on his legacy at a town hall meeting. President Barack Obama stopped by London's Globe Theater to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S U.K. VISIT ***************************
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GERMAN VISIT **********************
President Obama Addresses EU
President Barack Obama on late April 23, 2016 arrived at Hanover, Germany to address an E.U. Summit. Obama on April 24, 2016 strongly defended German Chancellor Angela Merkel's leadership.
Obama Announces Troops Boost in Syria
Underscoring the stake to fight against ISIL, President Barack Obama, standing beside European leaders such as David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, announced on April 25, 2016 the fivefold increase of troops in Syria from 50 to 300. The venue of the troops surge announcement was deliberate as President made it at Hanover, Germany in the midst of a summit. President Obama, who in recent days had rattled leaders from the Middle East and Europe by calling them the so-called "free riders", made an indirect reference on April 25, 2016 in his address as he said that "sometimes Europe has been complacent about its own defense" and implored the European leaders to contribute more troops to fight the ISIL. The troop surge will include special operations forces who will assist the local security as well as logistics and maintenance personnel.
********************* PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GERMAN VISIT **********************
****************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S MAY 2016 ASIA TRIP *********************
Five GOP Senators Asks President on Vietnam's Human Rights Records
As President Barack Obama on May 21, 2016 departed for a weeklong, high-profile Asia visit to drum up support for Trans-Pacific Pact, coalescing a loose alliance of the region's nations in a unity to stand up to an asserting China and fostering a coherent policy against terrorism, five Republican senators--Marco Rubio of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas, John Boozman of Arkansas, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana--wrote a letter to Obama to press Vietnamese leaders for more human and democratic rights, labeling the country as "one of the most repressive nations in the world". Sensing a probable presidential nudge on its human rights record, Vietnam on May 20, 2016 released one of country's most prominent Catholic priests, Rev. Nguyen Van Ly, 70, of the Catholic archdiocese of the central city of Hue, from jail.
Obama Writes a New Chapter on Vietnam
President Barack Obama arrived at Hanoi on late May 22, 2016 for a three-day visit that's emblematic of President's repeated call and action to make Asia the political "pivot", especially in the light of an aggressive and assertive China. On May 23, 2016, the first full day of presidential itinerary, President Obama rescinded an almost half-century arms embargo on the country. Although President Obama was emphatic at a press conference during the day that the (lifting of arms embargo) action had nothing to do with China, but rather based "on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam", that rationale had few takers as there was no significant visible progress of Vietnamese human records over the past few years that would trigger the lifting of embargo. It's widely believed that USA, in exchange for lifting of arms embargo, will gain access to the port of Cam Ranh Bay. although no announcement to this effect was made during the joint press conference of President Obama and the Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. One of the salient gains for Vietnam was President Obama's announcement of $16 billion in commercial package involving sales of 100 Boeing aircraft and 135 Pratt and Whitney engines to the country's low-cost carrier, VietJet.
Obama Meets Dissidents, Calls for more Openness
On May 23, 2016, President Obama met with about half-a-dozen prominent dissidents at a Hanoi hotel. However, many of the others, including a businessman, Nguyen Quang, 69, who had unsuccessfully tried to run for a parliamentary seat as an independent before being disqualified, and a prominent blogger and journalist, Pham Doan Trang, who had flown from Ho Chi Minh City, were barred from meeting the president at the hotel. Later touching on the obstructionist measure put forward by the government to bar dissidents from meeting the visiting president, Obama, addressing an auditorium full of crowd at the National Convention Center, said that it was important to have a society to promote human rights and free exchange of ideas in order to prosper. He also took a swipe at China for bullying "smaller" nations in the region.
President Arrives at Japan amid Murder Charges against American Security Contractor
President Barack Obama arrived at Nagoya, Japan on May 25, 2016 to attend G-7 summit that was scheduled to begin on May 26, 2016. President Obama was received at the airport by the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Ed Schlossberg. However, President's Japan visit was overshadowed by the controversy and anger generated by the recent killing of an Okinawa woman, Rina Shimabukuro, 20, by an American private contractor, 32-year-old Kenneth Shinzato, a former U.S. Marine. Rina Shimabukuro's body was found last week in a forest several weeks after she had disappeared on April 28, 2016 during her walk. The subsequent arrest of Shinzato evoked a very strong reaction and condemnation from Japanese across the political spectrum, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue with Obama on May 25, 2016 during an official dinner. President Obama expressed his "deepest regrets" to the "unforgivable crime", in the words of premier Abe, committed by Kenneth Shinzato.
G-7 Summit: President Reminds the Nuclear Risk
President Barack Obama met with six other world leaders at the G-7 Summit at Shima. The two-day summit (May 26-27, 2016) touched a wide range of issues such as nuclear proliferation, global economic growth, trade deals, including Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and terrorism. In the morning of the opening day of the summit, leaders were transported to Isa Shrine, one of Japan's holiest places, where Shinto priests greeted the leaders.
An Emotional Appearance of Obama at Hiroshima
In a vividly emotional and historic appearance, President Barack Obama on May 27, 2016 visited Hiroshima as the first sitting U.S. President to pay respect for the victims of the atomic bomb. Although President Obama didn't apologize for the atomic bomb that had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima and another atomic bomb that had killed up to 80,000 people in Nagasaki, 260 miles away, he was candid about the danger of nuclear proliferation with his emphatic call for a "moral revolution" against any recurrence of what had happened 71 years ago when "death fell from the sky, and the world was changed". President Barack Obama placed a white-and-yellow wreath in front of the monument, and later met one of the survivors, Sunao Tsuboi, a chairman of the Hiroshima branch of Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization.
****************** PRESIDENT OBAMA'S MAY 2016 ASIA TRIP *********************
********************************* TRUMP PRESIDENCY **************************
****************** TRUMP'S FIRST FOREIGN TRIP AS PRESIDENT *****************
Saudi Arabia
Trump's First Foreign Trip Begins with a Big Bilateral Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump began his first foreign trip with his "strategic vision" of inking a bilateral deal of $110 billion arms sales to Saudi Arabia on May 20, 2017. Trump had arrived at the Mubaraka Palace in Riyadh to a royal reception of pomp and prestige, and as he and King Salman had signed the arms deal as well as other commercial deals valued at more than $250 billion, a new bond between the allies was built after a years-long strained relationship under Obama presidency. Describing the scale of the deal's impact, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference that "this is unprecedented".
Trump Resets America's Relationship with Muslim World
Eight years after the then-President Barack Obama had addressed the Muslim World with his inspiring Cairo speech to put forward a way to smoothen over often tense relationship that had come to define the relationship that the Islamic World had at that time with the west , President Donald Trump rump tried to recast the narrative in a similar manner on May 21, 2017. At a gathering of the leaders of the Muslim World at Riyadh, President Trump described the fight against terrorism as a battle between good and evil, steering away from any religious undertone that he had often inflamed in the campaign trail. The main achievement of the day was an agreement between Saudi Arabia and USA to launch a joint Terrorist Financing Targeting Center to monitor the money trail of funding of the terrorist networks. During the day, President Trump met with the leaders of the Gulf nations Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar as well as Egypt in addition to taking a trip to the Riyadh-based, newly opened Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology.
ISRAEL
Trump Begins Two-Day Historic Israeli Visit
U.S. President Donald Trump on May 22, 2017 embarked upon a two-day historic trip to Israel amidst increased uncertainty and a stalled peace process. Trump on May 22, 2017 visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, most sacred in Judaism. However, later in the day, he gave a blunt assessment to the future of Palestinian-Israeli crisis.
President Visit's Holocaust Memorial, Urges Sides to Work Together without Specifics
President Donald Trump on May 23, 2017 visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem with the First Lady Melania Trump, and laid wreath on a stone slab that was on the top of ashes of some Jews killed in Hitler's concentration camp. President Trump during the day met with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and called both sides to put aside the "pain and disagreement of the past", without being specific on how to exactly do that. Later in the day, he left for Europe.
EUROPE
Trump, Pope Attempts to Bridge the Divide
U.S. President Donald Trump on May 24, 2017 met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and tried to put a face of unifying message to the world in the backdrop of souring relationship during 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign that had drawn a pontificate rebuke for Trump's often inflammatory anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric.
****************** TRUMP'S FIRST FOREIGN TRIP AS PRESIDENT *****************
****************** TRUMP'S VISIT TO POLAND AND GERMANY *******************
Trump's Message Centers around Fear
Addressing a crowd at the Warsaw Monument on July 6, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump evoked the same fear that he had successfully exploited in the last year's U.S. presidential polls, saying that the western civilization was at the verge of perils. Trump's message resonated amongst a certain section of Polish population, and especially that's true with the ruling party led by the Polish President Andrzej Duda.
****************** TRUMP'S VISIT TO POLAND AND GERMANY *******************
TRUMP'S ASIA TRIP 2017
Trump Embarks on a 12-Day Asia Trip Expected to be Dominated by North Korea
President Trump on November 3, 2017 launched what could be a whirlwind dozen-day trip that would take him to one of the most volatile regions in the world. He will stop at Japan, South Korea, Japan as well as attend regional summit in Vietnam and Philippines.
Trump Arrives at Japan at a Precarious Moment in the Region
On his first stop of the 12-day, five-nation trip through Far East, Donald Trump and Melania Trump descended on Japan on November 5, 2017. President Trump and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, played golf at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan.
Trump Plays Diplomacy with Abe
President Donald Trump on November 6, 2017 had a hectic schedule in Japan that included a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Akasaka Palace and engaged on a plethora of issues covering trade, commerce and North Korea. Trump's Japan visit has special flavor as it fits right into Trump's own geo-political viewpoint of "free and open Indo-Pacific" alliance focused on building a strong relationship with Japan, Australia and India. Wrapping up his two-day Japan trip, President Donald Trump, standing alongside Shinzo Abe, told reporters on November 6, 2017 that North Korea posed "a threat to civilized world and international peace and stability" and "we will not stand for that".
Trump Plays Hot and Cold in his South Korea Visit
On the first day of South Korea visit on November 7, 2017, Donald Trump hinted that U.S was willing to give negotiation a chance to find a solution to North Korean nuclear weapons and missile program crisis. He added that "it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and the world". The November 7, 2017, message coming from the horse's mouth was one of the most conciliatory and accommodating tone yet.
Barely 24 hours had passed, the tone and tongue of Donald Trump changed abruptly. Addressing the South Korean parliament on November 8, 2017, Trump upped his voice and threatened that "world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation". He doubled down: "Do not underestimate us. And do not try us". During the day, President Trump had lunch with South Korean and U.S. soldiers deployed at the Camp Humphreys in South Korea. He had also planned to visit the DMZ, but heavy fog prevented Marine One from flying into the area.
Trump, Xi Make the Best of their Relationship to Shape Sino-U.S. Relationship
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not leave anything short to please a visiting President Donald Trump, and he tactfully played to the ego and personal pride of Trump. On November 8, 2017 night, first couples from both nations dined at the Forbidden City in a lavish treatment that resembled only to royalty. Trump was all too eager to return the favor, and put China on the same pedestal as the USA, the first time ever any U.S. president had done so. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were joined by their spouses Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan, respectively.
Trump's Lavish Praise of Xi Unprecedented
Clearly amused and pleased by the grand reception thrown in his honor that included a full-dress military parade and panoramic tour of Forbidden City during sunset on November 9, 2017, Donald Trump heaped praise on his host, saying to Xi publicly that "you are a very special man". Trump also blamed the previous U.S. administrations for yawning trade deficits and lauded China's progress that had left U.S. "so far behind", a comment rarely unheard from a U.S. president. Trump was also optimistic about the future of Sino-U.S. relationship, calling out: "Perhaps now more than ever we have an opportunity to strengthen our relationship".
Trump Arrives at APEC Summit in Vietnam
Donald Trump on November 10, 2017 arrived at Danang in Vietnam to attend Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit. At the gala dinner, Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were photographed to have been shaking hands.
TPP Agreement
Although Trump had opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the remaining 11 countries said on November 11, 2017 that they had reached an agreement on "core elements" of the deal, the largest trade deal in history. Under the terms of the deal, U.S. may re-enter the TPP in future.
TPP Agreement's Name Gets Changed
Trade ministers of the 11 of 21-nation APEC bloc on November 11, 2017 re-committed to the free trade and commerce as enshrined in the Trans Pacific Agreement, but rechristened the accord to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPATPP).
Trump Takes Putin's Words as Sincere
En route to Hanoi after wrapping up a Pacific rim bloc summit at Danang on November 11, 2017, President Donald Trump told the reporters that he had accepted the sincerity of Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said his country had not meddled in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
************************ NATO SUMMIT AND PRESIDENT TRUMP ****************
********************** TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT AT HELSINKI *********************
Summit Date and Venue Announced
Both the U.S. and Russian governments on June 28, 2018 announced that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would meet for their first one-on-one summit at Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
Trump's Rant against EU Raises Eyebrows
24 hours before the Helsinki Summit, President Donald Trump stunned his own aides and allies when he on July 15, 2018 publicly labeled EU as USA's foe. His anti-EU rant came after a tumultuous weekend of open bickering with NATO partners and three days after his own Justice Department had indicted a dozen Russian intelligence officials for meddling into 2016 U.S. election.
Trump's Startling News Conference with Putin Embarrassing
On many levels, it was expected that Vladimir Putin would use the July 16, 2018, summit with Donald Trump at Helsinki to his fullest advantage, but no one expected that Trump would go out of his way to sing the choir of Russian strongman. The diplomatic disaster began to unravel after they had faced the assembled reporters following their one-on-one session. The 45-minute press conference will definitely go down in the history book as one of the most disastrous press conferences ever a U.S. president has given. Trump's day even before the meeting with Putin began with a caustic tweet that targeted his own nation: blaming his country for years of "foolishness and stupidity" that had fueled the tension with Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry re-tweeted it with a short message: "we agree". Then came the disastrous performance at the press conference as he was asked by a journalist on Russian meddling in 2016 U.S. election to which Trump retorted: "My people came to me...they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia. The reaction to president's comment was instantaneous and pointed, including Republicans who made it clear that they couldn't stand behind Trump on this. Former CIA Director John Brennan called Trump's comment as "treasonous".
Trump Tries to Squirm away from His Disastrous Helsinki Performance
A day after he had stunned his own aides, Americans and allies, President Donald Trump tried to backtrack at a news conference on July 17, 2018 in the White House, saying that he had believed what U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded about definitive Russian intervention in the 2016 U.S. election and tried, in vain, to clarify that he had actually meant I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would not be Russia. However, there was hardly any taker of President Trump's explanation.
********************** TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT AT HELSINKI *********************
********************** PRESIDENT TRUMP'S JAPAN VISIT ************************
President Trump Begins Japan Trip as Bolton Assails North Korea
President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump began a four-day official Japan visit on May 25, 2019 that would take the president to an ego-burnishing tete-a-tete with Japan's new Emperor Naruhito. President Trump is likely to cover a host of issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, including North Korea, trade and tariffs, Iran and other issues. As President left the country in Air force One, his National Security Adviser John Bolton said at Tokyo hours before the president's arrival that North Korea had violated the U.N. Security Council resolutions, including the Resolution 1695 that banned any ballistic missiles. North Korea conducted two sets of missiles in early May 2019, and according to John Bolton, they were "close-range ballistic missiles", or CRBM, and "short-range ballistic missiles", or SRBM, both of them--CRBM and SRBM--prohibited under U.N.S.C. resolutions. John Bolton added that the harsh sanctions against North Korea would remain in place. But, just after 7:30 AM Japan time May 26, 2019, President Trump disputed Bolton in a tweet, saying: North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me".
President Trump Meets Emperor Naruhito, Backs Abe to Open Communications with Iran
President Donald Trump met with Emperor Naruhito, and later on May 27, 2019 said that Washington would support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to open communications with Iran. Meanwhile, in an embarrassing move, President Donald Trump virtually backed up North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose characterization of former Vice President Joe Biden as "low IQ individual" had pleased Trump.
********************** PRESIDENT TRUMP'S JAPAN VISIT ************************
President Donald Trump on November 6, 2017 had a hectic schedule in Japan that included a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Akasaka Palace and engaged on a plethora of issues covering trade, commerce and North Korea. Trump's Japan visit has special flavor as it fits right into Trump's own geo-political viewpoint of "free and open Indo-Pacific" alliance focused on building a strong relationship with Japan, Australia and India. Wrapping up his two-day Japan trip, President Donald Trump, standing alongside Shinzo Abe, told reporters on November 6, 2017 that North Korea posed "a threat to civilized world and international peace and stability" and "we will not stand for that".
Trump Plays Hot and Cold in his South Korea Visit
On the first day of South Korea visit on November 7, 2017, Donald Trump hinted that U.S was willing to give negotiation a chance to find a solution to North Korean nuclear weapons and missile program crisis. He added that "it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and the world". The November 7, 2017, message coming from the horse's mouth was one of the most conciliatory and accommodating tone yet.
Barely 24 hours had passed, the tone and tongue of Donald Trump changed abruptly. Addressing the South Korean parliament on November 8, 2017, Trump upped his voice and threatened that "world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation". He doubled down: "Do not underestimate us. And do not try us". During the day, President Trump had lunch with South Korean and U.S. soldiers deployed at the Camp Humphreys in South Korea. He had also planned to visit the DMZ, but heavy fog prevented Marine One from flying into the area.
Trump, Xi Make the Best of their Relationship to Shape Sino-U.S. Relationship
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not leave anything short to please a visiting President Donald Trump, and he tactfully played to the ego and personal pride of Trump. On November 8, 2017 night, first couples from both nations dined at the Forbidden City in a lavish treatment that resembled only to royalty. Trump was all too eager to return the favor, and put China on the same pedestal as the USA, the first time ever any U.S. president had done so. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were joined by their spouses Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan, respectively.
Trump's Lavish Praise of Xi Unprecedented
Clearly amused and pleased by the grand reception thrown in his honor that included a full-dress military parade and panoramic tour of Forbidden City during sunset on November 9, 2017, Donald Trump heaped praise on his host, saying to Xi publicly that "you are a very special man". Trump also blamed the previous U.S. administrations for yawning trade deficits and lauded China's progress that had left U.S. "so far behind", a comment rarely unheard from a U.S. president. Trump was also optimistic about the future of Sino-U.S. relationship, calling out: "Perhaps now more than ever we have an opportunity to strengthen our relationship".
Trump Arrives at APEC Summit in Vietnam
Donald Trump on November 10, 2017 arrived at Danang in Vietnam to attend Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit. At the gala dinner, Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were photographed to have been shaking hands.
TPP Agreement
Although Trump had opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the remaining 11 countries said on November 11, 2017 that they had reached an agreement on "core elements" of the deal, the largest trade deal in history. Under the terms of the deal, U.S. may re-enter the TPP in future.
TPP Agreement's Name Gets Changed
Trade ministers of the 11 of 21-nation APEC bloc on November 11, 2017 re-committed to the free trade and commerce as enshrined in the Trans Pacific Agreement, but rechristened the accord to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPATPP).
Trump Takes Putin's Words as Sincere
En route to Hanoi after wrapping up a Pacific rim bloc summit at Danang on November 11, 2017, President Donald Trump told the reporters that he had accepted the sincerity of Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said his country had not meddled in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
************************ NATO SUMMIT AND PRESIDENT TRUMP ****************
Large Protest Staged on the Eve of NATO Summit
Large protest march and rally was held on July 7, 2018 at the heart of Brussels by tens of thousands of varied groups of activists ranging from anti-war groups, LGBTQ rights groups, environmental groups, anarchists and anti-free trade groups. However, the rallying cry was trained at the U.S. President Donald Trump, who had already kicked off a diplomatic ruckus last month by writing a letter to the leaders of Canada, Norway, Germany and Denmark that "the United States is increasingly unwilling to ignore the European failure to meet shared security commitments" in the view of many of the NATO nations' reluctance to increase their defense contribution to 2 percent of GDP in a more fast-paced manner.
Trump Unloads on NATO Allies
As the two-day summit (July 11-12, 2018) of NATO began at Brussels on July 11, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump at a breakfast with NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg complained first about the lavish NATO headquarters and then poured out some more such as it's okay that he came "here as a pariah". Then he demanded that NATO members not only increased their defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2025, but now. He demanded that they should double their funding to 4 percent eventually. He even said that Germany was "captive to Russia" as Germany was dependent on Russia for its need for natural gas. Later he took to twitter to berate the NATO allies. However, one upside of the first day was Trump's consent to put his signature to the joint press release at the conclusion of summit contrary to G-7 summit in Canada where Trump refused to go along rest of the bloc.
************************ NATO SUMMIT AND PRESIDENT TRUMP ************************************** TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT AT HELSINKI *********************
Summit Date and Venue Announced
Both the U.S. and Russian governments on June 28, 2018 announced that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would meet for their first one-on-one summit at Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
Trump's Rant against EU Raises Eyebrows
24 hours before the Helsinki Summit, President Donald Trump stunned his own aides and allies when he on July 15, 2018 publicly labeled EU as USA's foe. His anti-EU rant came after a tumultuous weekend of open bickering with NATO partners and three days after his own Justice Department had indicted a dozen Russian intelligence officials for meddling into 2016 U.S. election.
Trump's Startling News Conference with Putin Embarrassing
On many levels, it was expected that Vladimir Putin would use the July 16, 2018, summit with Donald Trump at Helsinki to his fullest advantage, but no one expected that Trump would go out of his way to sing the choir of Russian strongman. The diplomatic disaster began to unravel after they had faced the assembled reporters following their one-on-one session. The 45-minute press conference will definitely go down in the history book as one of the most disastrous press conferences ever a U.S. president has given. Trump's day even before the meeting with Putin began with a caustic tweet that targeted his own nation: blaming his country for years of "foolishness and stupidity" that had fueled the tension with Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry re-tweeted it with a short message: "we agree". Then came the disastrous performance at the press conference as he was asked by a journalist on Russian meddling in 2016 U.S. election to which Trump retorted: "My people came to me...they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia. The reaction to president's comment was instantaneous and pointed, including Republicans who made it clear that they couldn't stand behind Trump on this. Former CIA Director John Brennan called Trump's comment as "treasonous".
Trump Tries to Squirm away from His Disastrous Helsinki Performance
A day after he had stunned his own aides, Americans and allies, President Donald Trump tried to backtrack at a news conference on July 17, 2018 in the White House, saying that he had believed what U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded about definitive Russian intervention in the 2016 U.S. election and tried, in vain, to clarify that he had actually meant I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would not be Russia. However, there was hardly any taker of President Trump's explanation.
********************** TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT AT HELSINKI *********************
********************** PRESIDENT TRUMP'S JAPAN VISIT ************************
President Trump Begins Japan Trip as Bolton Assails North Korea
President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump began a four-day official Japan visit on May 25, 2019 that would take the president to an ego-burnishing tete-a-tete with Japan's new Emperor Naruhito. President Trump is likely to cover a host of issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, including North Korea, trade and tariffs, Iran and other issues. As President left the country in Air force One, his National Security Adviser John Bolton said at Tokyo hours before the president's arrival that North Korea had violated the U.N. Security Council resolutions, including the Resolution 1695 that banned any ballistic missiles. North Korea conducted two sets of missiles in early May 2019, and according to John Bolton, they were "close-range ballistic missiles", or CRBM, and "short-range ballistic missiles", or SRBM, both of them--CRBM and SRBM--prohibited under U.N.S.C. resolutions. John Bolton added that the harsh sanctions against North Korea would remain in place. But, just after 7:30 AM Japan time May 26, 2019, President Trump disputed Bolton in a tweet, saying: North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me".
President Trump Meets Emperor Naruhito, Backs Abe to Open Communications with Iran
President Donald Trump met with Emperor Naruhito, and later on May 27, 2019 said that Washington would support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to open communications with Iran. Meanwhile, in an embarrassing move, President Donald Trump virtually backed up North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose characterization of former Vice President Joe Biden as "low IQ individual" had pleased Trump.
********************** PRESIDENT TRUMP'S JAPAN VISIT ************************
*************************** BIDEN PRESIDENCY ***********************************
Biden Assures Allies in the First Overseas Visit
President Joe Biden on June 9, 2021 arrived at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England as part of an eight-day foreign trip that would be part reiterating administration's agenda of reassuring allies, part to accelerate effort to form a broad-based coalition against an assertive China and part to increase America's influence to counterbalance the aggressive Russian posture. Biden's hectic trip will include a G-7 Summit, a NATO Summit and his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16, 2021 in Switzerland.
G-7
to Share 1 billion Doses of COVID Vaccines, with the U.S. to Share 500 million
On
the eve of G-7 Summit in England, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
June 10, 2021 announced that G-7 would share 1 billion doses of COVID-19
vaccines with the world, hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced sharing
of 500 million doses. U.S. will become the largest donor and funder of
COVAX Program, with $4 billion of funding already pledged. Although the
price tags for the COVID-19 vaccines to be shared by wealthy nations have yet
to be disclosed, the tiered pricing will definitely be a deep discount, or even
free, for many poorer nations.
Johnson
Calls for Prep for the Next Pandemic
G-7
summit opened at the English seaside resort of Carbis Bay on June 11, 2021,
with Coronavirus pandemic and related vaccines sharing plan, climate change,
trade and Russia in the minds of leaders. Opening three days of talks, British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the leaders not to repeat the “last
great crisis, last great recession”, implying the coronavirus pandemic and economic
recession of 2008.
G-7
Summit Ends with Focus on Re-building Old Bonds Frayed under Trump
On June
13, 2021, the final and third day of the G-7 Summit at the Carbis Bay,
England, a final communique was released that stressed on putting up a
unified stand against China although with a toned-down language. The Carbis
Bay Declaration calls on Beijing to respect human rights, share more
information on Coronavirus origin, reduce tensions in Taiwan Strait and South
China Sea, and desist from “non-market policies”. Addressing the reporters,
President Joe Biden put his perspectives in terms of whether democracies could
tackle and address issues related to pandemic and climate change better than
autocracies.
NATO
Pivots towards Chinese Aggressiveness
President
Joe Biden joined the NATO summit on June 14, 2021, with attendees
heaving a collective sigh of relief for the first time in 4 years for not having
Trump-era drama consuming the entire summit agenda. British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson likened the opening day of the NATO summit at Brussels as the
first day of the school. On the first day, NATO leaders have a new pivot to put
a spotlight on, and that’s China and its policies in Asia-Pacific region and
beyond. President Joe Biden had a meeting with Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the summit which both leaders called
cordial and good.
First
Summit of Biden and Putin
U.S.
President Joe Biden on June 16, 2021 met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the first high-profile
summit at Geneva that, the U.S. President said, had been meant for formulating “some
rules of the road”. Although there was no “kumbaya moment” of sort, holding the
meeting itself was a success as the tension between tensions was rising in the
midst of Russian interference in U.S. election, cyberattacks from Russia, Kremlin’s
militarization of Ukrainian borders, Putin’s support to Belarusian strongman
Aleksander Lukashenko and brutal suppression of Russian opposition. Both
leaders decided to begin negotiation of stalled New START treaty.
Biden's Six-Day Trip to South Korea and Japan
Biden Embarks in Asia Trip amidst Domestic Challenges, Ukraine War
President Joe Biden on May 19, 2022 embarked on a six-day trip to the USA's new international pivot, Asia, spotlighting Washington's foreign policy prerogative in the region to thwart the growing and assertive influence of China. First, Biden will meet with his newly inaugurated South Korean counterpart at Seoul to discuss, among others, the peace and stability of Korean Peninsula. President Joe Biden will then travel to Japan to meet with Japanese leaders as well as to attend a summit of "Quad", a group that consists of U.S., Japan, Australia and India.
Biden Touts Strong Commercial Relationship with South Korea
President Joe Biden as the first agenda of his South Korea trip on May 20, 2022 visited a computer chip plant owned by Samsung at the city of Pyeongtaek, and touted the technology company's November 2021 announcement of constructing a semiconductor chip plant in Central Texas. The $17 billion investment in Central Texas is expected to generate thousands of jobs. Biden said that "so much of the future" would be written "here, in the Indo-Pacific, over the next several decades". Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong greeted President Joe Biden and South Korea's new president, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Biden Favors More Joint Military Exercises with South Korea
Rolling back the previous administration's curtailment of joint military drills as part of Former President Donald Trump's charm offensive towards Kim Jong Un, President Joe Biden now wants to strengthen the ties between the U.S. and South Korea by deepening the joint military readiness in Korean Peninsula. As part of that strategy shift, President Biden has told the correspondents at a joint news conference in Seoul with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. and South Korea will hold more military exercises. Biden also said that he would seriously consider a meeting with Kim Jong Un if the North Korean leader is "sincere" and "serious".
Taiwan to be Excluded from the New Trade Bloc
As President Joe Biden is poised to launch in Tokyo the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework on May 23, 2022, it is clear that one key nation will not be part of it. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, giving preview of the composition of IPEF, said on May 22, 2022 that U.S. would deepen bilateral relations with Taiwan.
President Biden's Foreign Police Gaffe over Taiwan
Addressing a press conference at Tokyo on May 23, 2022, President Joe Biden responded to a question what U.S. would do in case of a Chinese aggression of Taiwan, and that answer seemed to have veered from Washington's age-old diplomatic posture of "strategic ambiguity". Biden said that U.S. would defend Taiwan in case Taipei came under Chinese attack. Under "strategic ambiguity" model, U.S. pursues a vibrant and cordial bilateral relationship with Taiwan alongside nurturing a diplomatic, often tense, but competitive, multi-dimensional relationship with Beijing. The "strategic ambiguity" serves the U.S. well. Many political observers see Biden's May 23, 2022, comment as another gaffe. The reaction from Beijing was swift as Chinese Foreign Policy spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, castigated Biden's comment as violating China's "core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity".
Biden's Six-Day Trip to South Korea and Japan
********************** BIDEN'S MIDDLE-EAST TRIP
Biden Vows Strengthening Bond with Ally Israel
President Joe Biden arrived at Tel Aviv on July 13, 2022 and was accorded a red-carpet welcome. In a pre-recorded interview broadcast by Israel's Channel 12 after his arrival, President Joe Biden said that the "only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons". President Joe Biden visited Yad Vashem Memorial later in the day. Biden was received at the airport, among others, by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and caretaker Premier Yair Lapid.
Biden, Lapid Issue Joint Declaration
On July 14, 2022, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid issued a joint declaration at a press conference, deepening the time-tested bilateral bond.
Biden's Fist Bump with MBS Criticized, Ridiculed
President Joe Biden on July 15, 2022 met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at Jeddah as part of the administration's resetting of the relationship with Saudi Arabia. The picture of Biden giving fist-bump to MBS went viral and was immediately criticized. Biden vowed on the campaign trail to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state as U.S. intelligence had concluded MBS' involvement in ordering the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. However, political situation has changed as U.S. and rest of the world are witnessing the record high oil prices and a surging inflation in the backdrop of Russia's February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, and Washington needs the help of Saudis more than ever to stabilize the global oil market.
Biden Vows to Have American Presence in the Region
Criticizing his predecessor's policy of disengagement from a region that's vital to U.S. and its allies' regional security, President Joe Biden on July 16, 2022 pledged to never create a diplomatic and security vacuum in the Middle East to let adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China to fill the void and impose their assertive policies. Joe Biden's sharp comment came as he was addressing a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council at Jedda. Having Biden to address GCC summit is a political win for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
********************** BIDEN'S MIDDLE-EAST TRIP
***************** BIDEN'S CANADA VISIT**********
Synergies over Ukraine, Migrant Crisis Emphasized
President Joe Biden took a whirlwind trip to Ottawa on March 24, 2023, marking his first official visit to Canada as president. He addressed Canadian parliament, met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and jointly addressed a press conference at Ottawa. The central theme at all of these events is what President Biden called "intertwined" and "inseparable" destinies. Both nations struck almost unanimity over their unwavering support for Ukraine. They also agreed to take a unified stand to cut down the unofficial crossings by migrants between the checkpoints. Canada agreed to annually admit 15,000 migrants from the Western Hemisphere.
***************** BIDEN'S CANADA VISIT**********
**************** BIDEN'S NORTHERN IRELAND AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VISIT **********
Biden Arrives as Belfast as Part Celebration, as Part Family Reunion Visit
President Joe Biden on April 11, 2023 evening arrived at Belfast and was greeted by British Premier Rishi Sunak. Joe Biden will meet with Premier Sunak on April 12, 2023, morning, and then, meet with Northern Ireland's five key political parties. In his last leg of the visit, Biden will set feet on the Republic of Ireland and explore opportunities to reconnect with distant relatives.
Biden Addresses at Ulster University
President Joe Biden began his official day on April 12, 2023 with a tea breakfast with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Later he addressed students and other dignitaries at the very place that had been a shining imprimatur of the Good Friday Agreement. The glass building of the Ulster University is a standing proof of what a peace accord can achieve for an entire nation. President Joe Biden called for restoration of the joint administration as soon as possible.
**************** BIDEN'S NORTHERN IRELAND AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VISIT **********
*************************** BIDEN PRESIDENCY ***********************************
