It’s a dawn of a new era; Joe Biden will occupy the White House on January 20, 2021, when he will be sworn in to begin his tenure of office as the 46th President of the United State of America.
Kamala Harris, the first African American woman of South Asian descent and first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office of the land, will also swear the oath of office to assume the office of Vice President.
The former Vice President of US and the Democratic candidate had secured 290 electoral votes, surpassing the required 270 electoral votes to be declared the winner.
Already, congratulatory messages have been pouring on the 77- year old who served two terms as Vice President under President Barack Obama ( 2009-2017).
The common message that runs through the congratulatory messages from global leaders touches on finding a common ground to move on and to heal the bitter divisiveness, in apparent reference to the marathon electioneering characterised by heated rhetoric and acrimony.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taken to his Twitter handle and sent a word of congratulation to Biden, whose former boss, Obama, decorated with Presidential Medal of Freedom at the close of their administration in 2017.
Certainly, Biden is not new to the global politics, having served as a senator and as Vice President for two terms.
From 1973 to 2009, Joe Biden distinguished himself as a Senator, having won the respect of others for his foreign policy position, which included advocating strategic arms limitations with the Soviet Union; promoting peace and stability in the Balkan; expanding NATO to include Soviet-bloc nations; and opposing the first Gulf war. In later years, he called for American action to end the genocide in Darfur and spoke against President George W. Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq, particularly in opposing the troop surge in 2007.
To us at Ghanaian Times, Biden going back to the White House, this time to assume the high office of the land, means a lot.
We expect him to bring his rich political career to bear on the promotion of the welfare and well-being of not only American people, but also to help bring to humanity in general prosperity, global peace, security and stability.
Indeed, the relationship between US and some African countries has not been the best under the reign of the incumbent Donald Trump due to his vituperation against them.
Perhaps, he does not understand the African region very well but would not do well to open up to the region that has great potential as an emerging global player.
We join others to express the hope that the Biden administration will adopt favourable policies to restore the cooperative link with Africa and the rest of the world that prevailed under the Obama administration.
The African Union Chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, in a congratulatory message, said, “The AU Commission looks forward to a new stronger US-Africa relations based on mutual respect and shared values of international cooperation.”
In congratulating the incoming US President, Biden, we urge him, as a foreign policy expert, to pursue policies that will take cognisance of cultural diversity in a ‘universalised world’.
