US President Joe Biden was clearly in a hurry to undo some of the damage done during the Trump presidency as he signed more than a dozen executive orders during his first day in office. Most noticeable among them was his decision reverse a number of immigration policies that pretty much defined the Trump White House, including lifting the controversial 2017 travel ban on people from a host of Muslim countries. American Muslims, as well as others in other countries, have rightly hailed the new chief. Much to the relief of the majority of the world’s population, especially global leaders, Biden also effectively brought the US back into the Paris climate accord. Yet some of his most crucial foreign policy positions remain to be seen. The Trump era saw ties with China plunge to lows never seen before, culminating in the unceremonious tariff war that upset supply chains across the world, and now everybody especially Beijing is waiting to see which way the new president tilts. Then there is also the question of Iran. Needless to say that Trump came dangerously close to igniting a war with Iran, of course, and if it hadn’t been for the good sense displayed by a couple of his senior military advisors, Pakistan too could have been suffering the fallouts of such a misadventure because of its own proximity with the Islamic Republic. Judging by his first few days in office, Joe Biden seems determined to heal many of the wounds that his predecessor inflicted not only on that great democracy but also on other states. Lifting the so-called Muslim ban is a very good gesture and will go a long way in addressing not just the grief that a lot of travelers and refugees felt, but also the sense of alienation that it caused among American Muslims. That he also mentioned issues like white supremacy during his inaugural speech also says a lot about the kind of change he wants to bring to America and to the world. First, though, he is looking to put an end to the curse of the coronavirus forever and for that the central government has already offered to reimburse all states in full for all their vaccination drives. This man means business; and his own country and the rest of the world are breathing a sigh of relief because of it. Hopefully he will not disappoint. *