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| Photo Credit: AP. |
US President Joe Biden has announced his first trip to the Middle East in July where energy security would be top on his agenda. The energy concerns is coming more than three months after Russian invaded Ukraine and threatened to cut off energy to some European countries that fail to pay for its energy in the Russian currency.
Mr Biden’s
trip will begin from Wednesday July 13th to Saturday July 16th with three stops
in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia and engagements with nearly a dozen
counterparts from across the region and beyond.
A Senior
Administration Official who made the announcement during a press parley at the
White House on Tuesday said that the President’s trip to the Middle East is
part of “this clear sequence of global engagements at an important moment and demonstrates,
we believe, the return of American leadership to bring countries together to
address common threats and challenges”.
The Senior
Administration Official stated that the United States can uniquely do its
obligations of bringing countries together adding that the US is working “with
new frameworks that aim to harness unique American capabilities to enable
partners to work more closely together, which is essential to a more secure,
prosperous, and stable Middle East region over the long term.”
The official said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted President
Biden to personally begin to “revitalize our unique strength in building
alliances and coalitions through diplomacy and highest-level engagement’.
Iran’s lack of compliance with “safeguard” obligations which necessitated a
vote last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would likely
feature prominently during his trip to the region.
“The first stop is Israel. This will be President Biden’s first visit to
the country as President, and it comes nearly 50 years after his first visit to
Israel as a young senator,” said Senior Administration Official on the
President’s schedule.
Mr Biden’s visit to Israel comes after a vote by Congress of a whopping $1
billion to replenish the Iron Dome after the Gaza conflict of March 2021. In
March of this year Congress also passed an NDAA with the largest funding
package for Israel in U.S. history with a particular focus on missile defense
and security assistance.
Mr. Biden
shall hold talks with Prime Minister Bennett of Israel and shall visit an area
where the defensive systems are utilized as well as discuss new innovations
between the two countries “that use laser technologies to defeat missiles and
other airborne threats,” according to the Senior Administration Official.
President Biden will also reaffirm the U.S Ironclad commitment to Israel’s
security and explore new areas of deepening cooperation in technology, climate,
commerce, trade and other sectors.
President
Biden’s visit, according to the Senior Administration Official will also focus
on Israel’s increasing integration into the region, both through the Abraham
Accords with UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain through “deepening ties between Israel,
Jordan and Egypt; and also an entirely new groupings of partners, including
Israel, India, UAE, and the United States — what we call I2U2.”
In the West Bank, President Biden will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas and
other Palestinian leaders.
President
Biden will also travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after his engagements in Israel
and the West Bank as part of his four day trip and will participate in a summit
of the Gulf Cooperation — GCC+3 with the
leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, plus Iraq,
Jordan, and Egypt.
In Saudi Arabia the President with discuss a range of bilateral regional and
global issues in Jeddah. These include support to the “U.N.-mediated
truce in Yemen, which has led to the most peaceful period there since the war
began seven years ago,” said the Senior Administration Official.
Mr Biden will also discuss means for expanding regional, economic, and security
cooperation, including new and promising infrastructure and climate
initiatives, as well as deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights,
and ensuring global energy and food security.
The President also looks forward to outlining an affirmative agenda for
America’s engagement in this vital region, making clear that the United States
is fully committed to supporting the territorial defense of our partners
against threats from Iran or elsewhere, and doing so in new integrated and
innovative ways, while also combining these strong deterrent capabilities with
proactive diplomacy to de-escalate tensions and wars wherever
possible.
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