U.S. President Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron were all smiles and handshakes during their first formal, in-person meeting on Saturday, with Macron telling pool reporters "it's great to have the U.S. president part of the club."
Why it matters: Biden has made rebuilding the United States' global leadership central to his foreign policy, frequently touting, "America is back."
- "What you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership," Macron told Biden during their breakout session on the side of the G-7 summit in England
Details: The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including NATO, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
- "We have to deal with this pandemic, and the COVID-19," Macron said, according to CNN. "We have to face a lot of challenges, a lot of crises, climate change, and for all these issues, what we need is cooperation, and I think it's great to have a U.S. president part of the club and very willing to cooperate."
- “We feel very, very strongly about the cohesion of NATO and I for one think that the European Union is an incredibly strong and vibrant entity that has a lot to do with the ability of pushing Europe to not only handle its economic issues but provide the backbone and the support for NATO," Biden said, according to Politico.
- This was the only bilateral meeting on the American president's agenda for Saturday.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also seen in attendance, according to pool reports.
Go deeper: What to expect from Biden's trip to Europe
