Coronavirus forces Biden to forgo pomp for US-Canada meeting

  • Date: 23-Feb-2021
  • Source: Egypt Independent
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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Coronavirus forces Biden to forgo pomp for US-Canada meeting

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing President Joe Biden to alter another first for his administration: the typically formal White House meeting with a foreign counterpart.

Biden will play host to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday for the first bilateral meeting of his presidency, but he will do it virtually.

In pre-pandemic times, such a meeting would have been held with fanfare: Biden welcoming the Canadian prime minister with great pomp upon his arrival, an Oval Office talk between the two leaders, a joint news conference and perhaps a luncheon.

But with both leaders stressing caution to their citizens, Biden and Trudeau are foregoing the typical protocol and holding their talks by video conference.

U.S. presidents traditionally invite the Canadian prime minister for their first meeting with a world leader. White House officials said that they are still trying to offer a touch of stagecraft for the meeting.

The two leaders “” Biden in the Oval Office in Washington and Trudeau in the prime minister's office in Ottawa “” will first deliver brief remarks in front of the media at the start of their meeting.

Then Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will hold a 45-minute session with Trudeau,