Obama calls for new era of world engagement

UNITED NATIONS – US President Barack Obama called for “a new era of engagement” with the world on Wednesday, pledging to work together with other countries while defending the interests of the United States.

The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, Obama said in his maiden speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

Obama said discontent at perceived US unilateralism had fed “an almost reflexive anti-Americanism” that too often had served as an excuse for collective inaction.

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