Emmanuel Macron on the phone.

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JOHN THYS / POOL / AFP

Emmanuel Macron will meet this Sunday in the early evening by phone with US President Joe Biden, the first exchange since the latter took office, said the Elysee.

This interview should make it possible to "see that, always, the fundamentals remain - those of a shared history which make us the oldest ally of the United States (...) - and say that we will continue to be this reliable ally and available for act alongside them, ”underlined the French presidency.

It should also be an opportunity to "draw very concretely the main axes of an action agenda for the coming months, on the climate, the global distribution of vaccines, the reform of global health and trade governance".

Washington has returned to the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO), signaling its return to multilateral institutions after four years of frenzied unilateralism.

An interview already just after the election

This telephone meeting on Sunday "will be an opportunity for the two presidents to discuss their positioning in a complex and changing world", adds the French presidency, stressing that there is for Emmanuel Macron "the whole question of European sovereignty and strategic autonomy, the future of NATO, but also its will to succeed for and with Africa ”.

Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden spoke for the first time on November 10, after the election of the President of the United States.

He then told the French Head of State that he wanted to "revitalize bilateral and transatlantic relations, in particular through NATO and the European Union", often abused by Donald Trump.

First EU head of state called

According to the Elysee, Emmanuel Macron is the first head of state of the European Union to be called by Joe Biden since his arrival at the White House on Wednesday.

This marks "a desire for close cooperation between the two presidents, while the teams already have well-established contacts," said the same source.

The French president was "sensitive" to the reference to the French origins of Joe Biden, who took an oath on a family inheritance, a Douai Bible more than 400 years old.

Emmanuel Macron also wants to "build a renewed dialogue" between the EU and the United States.

"It is a question of having a very frank dialogue" without "denying the differences, in particular on digital questions and commercial questions", with "the objective of moving forward on these subjects in a confident and constructive spirit", notes the Elysee.

Emmanuel Macron, who came to power in 2017, has never met Joe Biden who was Barack Obama's vice-president between 2009 and 2017.

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