Trump to lay out vision of US role in world

Emmanuel Macron (left) and Donald Trump met yesterday in New York ahead of the opening of the General Assembly. Photo / AP

President Donald Trump today presents a vision of US engagement with the world in his maiden address to the United Nations that aides said would be consistent with the nation's "values and traditions" but would not focus on advancing democracy abroad.

This dichotomy of a US leader pledging to shape global conditions to ensure the United States' prosperity and security without explicitly promoting its way of life is expected to distinguish Trump's speech from those of his White House forebears.

The President's nationalist agenda has led to widespread anxiety among the US allies and partners who have gathered in New York this week among the more than 150 foreign delegations at the 72nd UN General Assembly.

Although Trump campaigned on a policy of putting "America first" and spoke dismissively of international bodies such as the UN and Nato, he has offered a tentative embrace of them as he seeks to rally international support to confront destabilising threats from North Korea, Iran and Isis (Islamic State).

Trump began several days of diplomacy at the UN yesterday with a session devoted to reforming the institution - a theme during his outsider presidential campaign and a key demand of some of his conservative supporters.

In brief opening remarks, he said the UN had not lived up to its billing upon its creation in 1945, asserting that it suffered from a bloated bureaucracy and "mismanagement". Trump urged his fellow leaders to make reforms aimed at "changing business as usual", but pledged that his Administration would be "partners in your work".

French President Emmanuel Macron will also make his maiden speech.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian set a sombre tone for the meeting, telling reporters yesterday that dissension and conflict are at their highest levels since the Cold War and that co-operation among nations has become more difficult in a world that is more interdependent than ever.

What is worse, Le Drian said, is that some countries are increasingly questioning the role of working together, "and with a temptation of withdrawal out of fear or selfishness". He gave no examples but appeared to be pointing to growing nationalism in the US and some European countries.

- Washington Post, AP