White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy as President Biden welcomed the leaders of India, Japan, and Australia to his home for meetings. Sullivan stated, “All politics is personal, all diplomacy is personal. And developing personal relationships has been core to his approach to foreign policy as president. So opening his home to the leaders of India, Japan, and Australia is a way of him showing, not just saying, but these leaders matter to him.”
President Biden hosted Australian PM Albanese on Friday (September 20, 2024) at his home on a pond in a wooded area several miles west of downtown. The following day, he welcomed Japan PM Kishida and PM Modi before gathering all the leaders for consultations at Archmere Academy in nearby Claymont.
Sullivan described the meeting with Mr. Albanese as a casual discussion about the state of the world, stating, “two guys – one at the other guy’s home – talking in broad strokes about where they see the state of the world.”
– AP
