‘We have the chance to prove’ democracy’s strength: Biden

Before US President Joe Biden’s first overseas trip, he argues Western democracies can stand up to ‘modern-day threats’.

United States President Joe Biden will travel to Europe this week to rally Western democracies to address the global challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change while also confronting threats from Russia and China. Biden will meet in the United Kingdom with leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations and in Brussels with NATO allies before ending his first overseas trip with a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. Biden, who faces challenges to the US democracy at home after devastating losses of nearly 600,000 in the COVID-19 pandemic, framed the moment as a call to action to the Western democracies.