Today, the President of the United States and the President of the French Republic met in Washington during the first State Visit of the Biden-Harris Administration.
DECEMBER 01, 2022
Indo-Pacific
The United States and France, two nations of the Indo-Pacific, are strengthening their partnership in the Indo-Pacific region to advance prosperity, security, and shared values based on a rules-based international order, transparent governance, fair economic practices, and respect for international law, including freedom of navigation. The United States and France intend to expand their regional diplomatic, development, and economic engagement with a view to building resilience in the Pacific Islands. They also intend to increase practical coordination in the region on maritime security. The United States intends to increase its support and material contributions to air and maritime deployments conducted by France and other European nations in the region.
The United States and France will continue to coordinate on our concerns regarding China’s challenge to the rules-based international order, including respect for human rights, and to work together with China on important global issues like climate change. The Presidents reaffirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Both leaders also strongly condemn the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) unprecedented number of unlawful ballistic missile tests this year that violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to regional peace and stability, and are committed to continue coordination at the UN Security Council to address DPRK violations.
Africa
The Presidents renew their resolve to work with African partners to pursue shared governance, security, and economic priorities on the continent. They affirm the importance of African voices in multilateral fora, especially in addressing global crises like climate change, pandemic response and recovery, sustainable energy access, and food insecurity. They aim to support democratic institutions and civil societies in Africa to enhance accountability and the delivery of basic services.
They reaffirm their joint support for the African-led Great Green Wall initiative to address the climate and biodiversity crisis, contributing to sustainable development, peace, and security in the Sahara and Sahel regions. Fighting disinformation and terrorism remain joint priorities of France and the United States on the continent. France and the United States intend to continue to work closely with the African Union and African regional organizations to address the continent’s challenges and seize opportunities to increase trade and investment.
Middle East
France and the United States are determined to work closely in support of peace and prosperity in the Middle East. The Presidents welcome the launch of the Negev Forum and the second anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords, along with the historic breakthrough of the October 2022 Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary agreement. They are determined to sustain joint efforts to urge Lebanon’s leaders to elect a president and advance critical reforms. They remain committed to maintain the means and capabilities necessary for the counterterrorism mission in Iraq and Syria as members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. France and the United States continue to work to improve the grave humanitarian situation faced by the Syrian people as well as to promote a long-lasting, just solution to the Syrian conflict. They will continue engaging with partners in the Middle-East and follow up on the August 2021 Baghdad Conference.
The Presidents also express their respect for the Iranian people, in particular women and youth, who are bravely protesting to gain the freedom to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms, which Iran itself has subscribed to and is violating.
They remain determined to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. France and the United States continue to work with other international partners to address Iran’s nuclear escalation, its insufficient cooperation with the IAEA, including on serious and outstanding issues relating to Iran’s legal obligations under its Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement, and its destabilizing activities in the Middle East, most urgently its transfers of missiles and drones, including to non-state actors. These transfers can threaten key Gulf partners and stability and security in the region, contravene international law, and now contribute to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. France and the United States will work with partners to enhance cooperation regarding enforcement of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and countering these activities. They will undertake joint efforts aimed at further strengthening the international framework constraining the proliferation of Iranian missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technologies in the region and beyond and in enhancing practical efforts to counter this proliferation.
Sur le même thème
Joint Statement Following the Meeting Between President Biden and President Macron (1-4)