Biden To Announce Mass Vaccine Donations As First Overseas Tour Begins

Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom, June 10 (AFP/APP) :Joe Biden triumphantly announced that "the United States is back!" as he kicked off his first overseas tour as US president, urging global collaboration and consensus to rebuild after Covid and reset diplomatic ties after the divisive isolation of the Trump era.

His multilateral charm offensive began even before he touched down in England for a packed week that takes in a G7 leaders' meeting, summits with NATO and the European Union, and talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

On the way, Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One that the president would kick things off with news of a major vaccine-sharing initiative.

Sullivan would not give full details, but US media reports said the Biden administration is set to buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for international distribution.

Doses will be aimed at developing countries, he added, calling the US-led initiative "the right thing to do".

"It's what Americans do in times of need. We were the arsenal of democracy in World War II. We're going to be the arsenal of vaccines," Sullivan added.

The Group of Seven will make a further joint declaration on "a comprehensive plan to help end this pandemic as rapidly as possible", he said.