WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis on October 29 before attending a two-day summit of G20 leaders in Rome where he hopes to reach agreement on a Global Minimum Tax of 15%, a White House official told Reuters.
On the second foreign trip of his presidency, Biden will then attend the UN climate conference known as COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, from November 1-2 and announce "key actions" on the conference's top themes, including goals for fighting climate change and forest and land use, the official said.
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Biden's visit to Italy and Britain for meetings with major world leaders is meant to signal that the United States is re-engaging with international groups after four years of Republican former President Donald Trump's "America First" policies.
But the trip comes amid international frustration over the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan, a rift with top ally France over a submarine deal with Australia, and question marks over the US ability to meet Biden's climate goals as lawmakers within his own Democratic Party haggle over his multitrillion-dollar legislative agenda.
Biden is likely to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron while the two leaders are in Rome.
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Biden's visit with the pope comes as some Roman Catholic bishops in the United States have sought to admonish Biden for his support of abortion rights. Biden is a Catholic who attends church regularly. His wife, Jill Biden, will also attend the meeting with Pope Francis.
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