Well-wishes to an incoming U.S. president took on a new form this year, as world leaders issuing congratulations to President Joe Biden also appeared to express palpable relief that the Trump administration had come to an end.
"America is back," tweeted South Korean President Moon Jae-in shortly after Biden's inauguration. "America's new beginning will make democracy even greater. Together with the Korean people, I stand by your journey toward 'America United.'"
Moon was among the world leaders most affected by former President Donald Trump's foreign policy, in this case the nuclear brinkmanship that accompanied his unprecedented meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The overtures amounted to three high-profile summits that ultimately did not yield major breakthroughs or prevent rising tensions in recent months as Pyongyang sought to reassert itself during the transition of power in Washington.
Others in the crosshairs of Trump's attempts to assert "America First" policies appeared almost jubilant at the prospects of a more predictable superpower.
Longtime NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, known for his stoicism, issued a very plain statement following Trump's inauguration in early 2017, clearly anticipating the combativeness the former president would employ to bully and cajole the Cold War-era alliance that's been made newly relevant amid renewed Russian provocations.
That tone differed sharply from his sentiments this week.
"Today is the start of a new chapter for the transatlantic alliance," wrote the former Norwegian prime minister, whose tenure shepherding the alliance began the same year Russia invaded Ukraine. "U.S. leadership remains essential as we work together to protect our democracies, our values and the rules-based international order."
Despite Trump's assertions that the U.S. had stabilized conflicts in the Middle East, some leaders on the ground there indicated the need for swift readjustments now compared to the events of the last four years.
Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, called on Biden to "restore much-needed certainty to the region" in issuing congratulations to the president and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Likewise Ashraf Ghani, the leader of Afghanistan from which Trump announced troop withdrawals completed the week before Biden's inauguration, called the change of administrations "a new beginning." The new president "starts anew to restore partnerships for peace," Ghani wrote.
In December, Ghani indefinitely canceled previously scheduled high-profile remarks at the Aspen Security Forum, days after Trump's announced withdrawal and facing new pressure from his administration on Kabul. The forum announced Thursday that Ghani would instead appear later in January.
Not all world leaders managing countries at the center of Trump's policies appeared pleased, however. Despite friction with its previous leaders, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has made clear to Biden that he had a good working relationship with the prior administration. And he appeared this week to caution against any policies that might appear overly meddlesome to Mexico's own ambitions, knowing Biden planned to prioritize sweeping new immigration policies in the first hours of his presidency.
"I must mention that we do have a very good relationship with the now president of your country, Mr. Donald Trump," he told Biden in a call this week, The New York Times reported. "Regardless of any other considerations, he respects our sovereignty."