LEADERS’ VIEWS
Joe Biden President, United States
I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond: war, hunger, terrorism, brutality, record displacement of people, a climate crisis, democracy at risk, strains within our societies, the promise of artificial intelligence and its significant risks … Our task, our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those that are pulling us apart, that the principles of partnership that we came here each year to uphold can withstand the challenges, that the center holds once again … To start, each of us in this body has made a commitment to the principles of the U.N. Charter, to stand up against aggression. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we could have stood by and merely protested. But Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I understood that that was an assault on everything this institution is supposed to stand for. And so, at my direction, America stepped into the breach, providing massive security and economic and humanitarian assistance. Our NATO [North American Treaty Organization] Allies and partners in 50-plus nations stood up as well. But most importantly, the Ukrainian people stood up. And I ask the people of this chamber to stand up for them. The good news is [Vladimir] Putin’s war has failed in ... his core aim. He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out to weaken NATO, but NATO is bigger, stronger, and more united than ever before with two new members, Finland and Sweden. But we cannot let up. The world now has another choice to make: Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom or walk away and let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed? I know my answer. We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away. And we will not let up on our support for Ukraine, not until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace [based] on the U.N. Charter. We also need to uphold our principles as we seek to responsibly manage the competition with China so it does not veer into conflict. We stand ready to cooperate on urgent challenges for the good of our people and the people everywhere. We recently resumed cooperation with China to stop the flow of deadly synthetic narcotics. I appreciate the collaboration. It matters for the people in my country and many others around the world.
We’ve taken the most ambitious climate actions in history. We’ve moved to rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one. And today, my country is finally on track to cut emissions in half by 2030, on track to honor my pledge to quadruple climate financing to developing nations with $11 billion thus far this year. We’ve rejoined the World Health Organization and donated nearly 700 million doses of COVID vaccine to 117 countries. We must now move quickly to face [the] mpox outbreak in Africa. We are prepared to commit $500 million to help African countries prevent and respond to mpox and to donate 1 million doses of mpox vaccine now … The United States, the G7, and our partners have embarked on an ambitious initiative to mobilize and deliver significant financing to the developing world. We are working to help countries build out their infrastructure, [for the] clean energy transition, [for] their digital transformation to lay new economic foundations for a prosperous future. It’s called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment … We have to keep it going … We must build a stronger, more effective, and more inclusive United Nations. The U.N. needs to adapt to bring in new voices and new perspectives. That’s why we support reforming and expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council … Artificial intelligence is going to change our ways of life, our ways of work, and our ways of war. It could usher in scientific progress at a pace never seen before. And much of it could make our lives better. But AI also brings profound risks, from deepfakes to disinformation to novel pathogens to bioweapons … As countries and companies race to uncertain frontiers, we need an equally urgent effort to ensure AI’s safety, security, and trustworthiness. As AI grows more powerful, it also must grow more responsive to our collective needs and values. The benefits of all must be shared equitably. It should be harnessed to narrow, not deepen, digital divides … We must make certain that the awesome capabilities of AI will be used to uplift and empower everyday people, not to give dictators more powerful shackles on the human spirit. In the years ahead, there may well be no greater test of our leadership than how we deal with AI. Address to the United Nations General Assembly, 24 September 2024
Upholding our principles On matters of conviction, the United States is unabashed, pushing back against unfair economic competition and against military coercion of other nations in the South China Sea, in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, in protecting our most advanced technologies so they cannot be used against us or any of our partners. At the same time, we’re going to continue to strengthen our network of alliances and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific … We are also working to bring a greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East. Progress toward peace will put us in a stronger position to deal with the ongoing threat posed by Iran. Together, we must deny oxygen to its terrorist proxies, which have called for more October 7ths, and ensure that Iran will never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon … But people need more than the absence of war. They need the chance to live in dignity. They need to be protected from the ravages of climate change, hunger, and disease. Our administration has invested over $150 billion to make progress [on these] and other Sustainable Development Goals. It includes $20 billion for food security and over $50 billion for global health. We’ve mobilized billions more in private-sector investment.
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G20 BRAZIL: THE RIO SUMMIT — 2024
globalgovernanceproject.org
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