World welcomes Biden’s mission to rebuild America

By Rushali Saha

After winning the most polarized elections in recent history, US President-elect Joe Biden has vowed “to rebuild the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class and to make America respected around the world again.” History was made when Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in a tightly contested election to be elected as the 46^th President of the United States of America. This election also saw America elect its first woman, first African America, and Indian American Vice-President. The result came 96 hours after America closed its polls and the world watched with baited breath as the Democratic presidential candidate steadily inched forward in key swing states. This crucial victory comes at a time when America is struggling with the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases in the world and over 200,000 deaths and the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

Mr Biden faces a dauting task ahead of him as the close margin of victory reveals how deeply polarised the nation is. But his calls for unity resonated with the Americans who showed up in huge numbers while maintaining social distancing protocols. Massive celebrations took place in capital city Washington DC which led to streets closing down as people arrived in large numbers, some even waving LGBTQ flags.

Modi congratulates Biden

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Joe Biden and expressed optimism about the future trajectory of bilateral relations. “As the VP, your contribution to strengthening Indo-US relations was critical and invaluable. I look forward to working closely together once again to take India-US relations to greater heights.” In a message to Kamala Harris, set to be next Vice-President, Mr Modi said: “Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans. I am confident that the vibrant India-US ties will get even stronger with your support and leadership.”

World welcomes Biden

Globally, America’s allies took to twitter to welcome Mr Biden’s victory. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted “The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities from climate change to trade and security.” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “On behalf of the Government of Canada, I congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris…..Canada and United States enjoy an extraordinary relationship…we will further build on this foundation as we continue to keep our people safe and healthy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and work to advance peace and inclusion, economic prosperity and climate action around the world.”

While Russian and Chinese leaders chose to remain silent, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refrained from congratulating Biden “until all legal issues are resolved.” Chinese state media Global Times published a piece titled “Joe Biden: a new president-elect for the US, yet an ‘old friend’ for Chinese, expressing cautious optimism about future relations under this new administration. Biden’s victory has fuelled hope that Biden will measure up to renewed task of rebuilding America.

Eminent diplomats, scholars and strategic analysts who participated in a recent webinar organised by India Writes Network on the ‘Future of India-US Relations after US Elections – New Hopes, New Horizons’ agreed that the India-US relations would reach greater heights under Biden’s presidency. The change in U.S. administration comes at a time when Indo-US ties have achieved a great momentum due to geostrategic alignment and the experts believed that it would only accelerate further. “With COVID under control and the economy going, I strongly believe that you’ll see the trade deal in the next 12 to 24 months,” said Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

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