Biden Skips G20 Dinner After Official He Met With Tested Positive for COVID-19

Read More

President Joe Biden on Nov. 15 skipped a dinner and event he’d been scheduled to attend after an official he met with earlier in the week tested positive for COVID-19.

Biden, in Asia for a Group of 20 summit and other events, opted against attending the G20 gala dinner with Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, and other world leaders.

Biden had also been scheduled to attend what was described as a cultural event after the dinner.

The choice came after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, with whom Biden met over the weekend, tested positive for COVID-19.

“It’s not COVID. He just had spent a full day in meetings and needed to attend to a few things tonight (nothing urgent!). He spoke to Widodo to send his regrets about missing the dinner and Widodo said it was not an issue and looks forward to seeing him at the mangrove thing tomorrow,” a White House official said.

Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, according to the White House.

Biden, 79, already contracted COVID-19 earlier this year despite receiving a primary vaccination series and a booster. The COVID-19 vaccines provide little to no protection against infection against the Omicron variant.

While at the summit, Biden held scheduled meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Widodo, and an unscheduled meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Biden and Meloni discussed coordinating on a range of issues, including challenges posed by the Chinese communist regime, climate issues, and Russia, according to a White House readout. Biden discussed with Modi and Widodo their shared commitment to utilizing G20 for international economic cooperation and how to tackle “the ongoing climate, energy, and food crises,” according to a readout.

With Erdoğan, Biden expressed appreciation for Turkey’s efforts to renew a grain initiative and issues related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is providing weapons and food to Ukraine during the Russia–Ukraine war.

Biden said in prepared remarks to the press that he thinks the G20 countries are going to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic “stronger than we went in” and that the group of nations was “focused on investing together and investing stronger than we have in the past.”

One new effort announced during the summit was the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which is aimed at investing money for infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries. The G20 nations want to invest $600 billion over five years.

“Investments we make together today will have far-reaching impacts on the world for generations to come. If we don’t make them, it will also have far-reaching impacts—if we don’t make these investments,” Biden said. “And so, creating real opportunity, greater equality, and a more secure, healthy, and prosperous world is what we’re all about.”

The president was scheduled to leave Indonesia on Nov. 16 after meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and reach Washington on Thursday.