February 5, 2021 
President Joe Biden announced “America is back” on Thursday and declared that “diplomacy is back at the center” of US foreign policy as he said the US will end all support for Saudi Arabia’s offensive operations in Yemen, one of several changes he announced in his first major foreign-policy speech since taking office.
Biden’s announcement at the State Department was just one of the significant changes he said he will make to US foreign policy, including freezing troop redeployments from Germany, raising the cap for refugees allowed into the US and reaffirming US support for LGBTQ rights worldwide.
In a call for values-led engagement with the world, Biden stressed that the global challenges of the moment, including the need to counter “advancing authoritarianism,” will “only be solved by nations working together.”
“We can’t do it alone. … We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values,” Biden said. “Defending freedom. Championing opportunity. Upholding universal rights. Respecting the rule of law. And treating every person with dignity.”
Biden acknowledged the threat to those values and to US global standing from the attempted insurrection encouraged by former President Donald Trump.
“Though many of these values have come under intense pressure in recent years, even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks, the American people are going to emerge from this moment more determined and better equipped to unite the world to defend democracy because we have fought for it ourselves,” the President said.
He delivered his speech after making less formal remarks to State Department employees, telling them that “we’re going to rebuild our alliances. We’re going to reengage the world and take on the enormous challenges we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming and again, standing up for democracy and human rights around the world.”
The President also announced his intention to increase the number of refugees admitted into the United States after years of historical lows under the Trump administration, and fulfill a campaign promise in doing so.
The Trump administration set a refugee cap of 15,000 for this fiscal year, the lowest since 1980. On Thursday, Biden said he will raise the admissions cap back up to 125,000 persons for the first full fiscal year of his administration and will direct the State Department to work with Congress on the issue.
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