Justin Trudeau has praised Joe Biden for rejoining the Paris climate accord during their first bilateral meeting, saying: “US leadership has been sorely missed over the past years.”.
The meeting – held virtually between the Roosevelt Room at the White House and Trudeau in his Ottawa office because of the pandemic – was Biden’s first with a foreign counterpart since taking office,.
Biden returned Trudeau’s compliments, saying: “The United States has no closer friend, no closer friend, than Canada.”.
Trudeau also thanked Biden for reiterating US support for the release of two Canadians held by China, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
But Biden’s “first priority” remains “ensuring every American is vaccinated”, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said ahead of the meeting.
Another area of concern for Trudeau is the “Buy American” executive order that Biden signed during his first week in office.
Canadian officials expect Trudeau to have a far more productive relationship with Biden than he did with Donald Trump. »