Among the gifts that US President Joe Biden received from foreign leaders in his first year in office, the most expensive was a pencil case and writing instruments worth 12,000 dollars (about 15.6 million won). It was a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On the 24th (local time), Bloomberg News, ABC Broadcasting, etc., cited the annual report of the U.S. State Department protocol official, and released a list of gifts and prices that President Biden received from foreign leaders in 2021. President Biden received a total of $46,000 (about 60 million won) worth of gifts that year.
President Putin held a summit meeting with President Biden in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2021 and presented a set of pencil cases and writing instruments. President Biden responded with sunglasses and a piece of glass in the shape of an American bison at the time. At the time, the relationship between the two countries was warm, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine quickly turned cold, ABC reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Biden at the White House in September of the same year and presented a flag worth 700 dollars (about 900,000 won).
Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani presented a silk rug worth $28,800 (about 37.6 million won) to President Biden in June of that year, before Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban. However, as the Taliban seized power in August of the same year as the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, former President Ghani fled abroad, and the U.S. ended its 20-year war with defeat, making the gift meaningless.
In June 2021, then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and US President Joe Biden are talking at the White House in Washington. ⓒ(GettyImages)/KoreaThe $433 (about 560,000 won) DuPont fountain pen given by French President Emmanuel Macron was recorded as the lowest-priced gift ever received by President Biden. Bloomberg News said, “The gift of the highest price (Russia) and the lowest price (France) are both writing instruments.”
The person who gave the most gifts to President Biden was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They handed over a package containing two dog food bowls, two wool blankets, a mug set, a fountain pen with an Oxford Blue ink bottle, a picture of a Frederick Douglass mural, and a mask engraved with the logo of the G7 summit. The price was measured at 536 dollars (about 700,000 won).
In May 2021, then-President Moon Jae-in visits the White House in Washington, USA for the Korea-US summit and greets President Joe Biden and his wife. (Blue House Facebook) News 1The gift that former President Moon Jae-in gave when he visited the White House and held a summit was also on the list. In May of that year, former President Moon presented a mother-of-pearl plaque and a cotton towel embroidered with a bouquet by hand. Also, when Jill Biden visited Korea as the second lady (wife of the vice president) in 2015, she made an album of photos taken at Jingwansa Temple and presented her as a gift. The U.S. State Department valued the gift at $2,282 (about 2.9 million won).
Gifts received from foreign heads of state belong to the US government in principle. According to Bloomberg News, the gifts are moved to the National Archives for safekeeping. If President Biden wants to own it personally, he can pay and purchase it.
In May 2021, then-President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden smiled and headed to their seats during a small-group meeting held at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (provided by the Blue House) News 1Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.