New York, Sep 21 (FN Bureau) US President Joe Biden on Tuesday stressed on focusing on fighting climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, and said US is moving away from an era of “relentless diplomacy” moving away from the era of “relentless war”. “We have ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we are opening to a new era of relentless diplomacy,” said US President.
Biden, speaking at the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations here, called this decade a “decisive decade for our world”. “Instead of continuing the wars of the past, we are fixing our eyes and devoting our resources to the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future. In this pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, managing the shift in global dynamics, shaping the roles of world and issues like trade, cyber and emerging technologies and facing the threat of terrorism as it stands today,” Biden said.
His comments came in the backdrop of US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the eventual taking over of the country by Taliban. US has been facing criticism of the Afghan pullout. The address also came as the world is reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and climate change has emerged as a major threat. “This is the clear and urgent choice we face here at the dawning of what must be a decisive decade for our world, a decade that will quite literally determine our futures,” he said. “We will work together to save lives, fight Covid 19 and take necessary steps to prepare for the next pandemic, for there will be another one,” he said. Without naming China, Biden said that the US did not want another ‘cold war’. “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs,” he said. The remarks come amid rising aggression of China in the South China Sea, and also along its border with India.