The Obama presidency, which the international community welcomed with open arms at the beginning of the year, is now six months old.
The world certainly had great expectations of the new American president and was relieved to see the end of the Bush presidency. How has US foreign policy changed since Obama took office?
First of all, there is little doubt that Obama put together a first class team of foreign policy officials who seem capable of working well together. Furthermore, in terms of rebranding America, he has done a superb job.
In contrast to his predecessor, Obama has pursued multilateralism and global engagement, has reached out to the Muslim world, announced his intention to close Guantanamo and seems genuinely keen on dialogue and reaching a deal on climate change.
I believe people's attitudes towards the US are changing for the better after a period when global perceptions of America were at an all time low, and Obama deserves credit for this. His intellect, charisma and oratorical skills have also contributed to this change.
What about policies? Have they really changed and how successful have they been so far? In some instances it might be too early to pass judgement, but we can perhaps evaluate where these policies are heading.
America's policy in the Middle East and towards the Muslim world is probably the area which needed to be reviewed the most when the new administration took office. We are mainly talking about the Arab-Israeli dispute, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, all of which present considerable challenges to American foreign policy.
The main message so far from Washington regarding the Palestinian-Israeli dispute is that a two-state solution is the only way forward and that Israel's continual expansion of illegal settlements is no longer acceptable. The formation of a right-wing government in Israel has not helped matters, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'acceptance' of a Palestinian state is a small step forward. Washington's engagement with Syria is also a move in the right direction, one that will hopefully produce results.
Obama kept his word over US troop withdrawals from Iraq and most will leave the country by August 2010. About 30,000 to 50,000 troops will remain in the country - mainly to help train the Iraqi forces - until December 2011. Obama's policy to shift the focus from Iraq to Afghanistan certainly makes sense, but challenges in Iraq remain and the security situation is still very fluid. Only time will tell whether the departure of US troops from Iraq will improve or worsen the situation.
The linking of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the appointment of a special envoy to the region was a good move, as was Washington's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.
However, Afghanistan and Pakistan probably present the greatest foreign policy challenge to the Obama administration and so far there has been little good news in the fight against the Taliban. This war obviously requires patience and determination, but unfortunately for Obama, not too many European countries have agreed to increase troop numbers there.
Engaging with Iran over the nuclear issue was a central plank of Obama's presidential platform and most analysts agree that this is the right approach. However, the turmoil which followed the disputed Iranian presidential election has complicated matters and Obama must strike a delicate balance between criticising the clampdown on Iranian dissidents and genuinely wanting to engage with Iran over its nuclear programme. Here, again, it is too early for concrete results and a lot will depend on how the domestic Iranian situation develops.
On dealing with North Korea and the pariah state's nuclear question, Obama has continued with the Bush administration's emphasis on the six nation talks, but perhaps has laid more emphasis on involving Japan and South Korea instead of going directly through China.
Furthermore, the fact that the US was able to convince China and Russia to vote for additional sanctions against North Korea following April's missile launch by Pyongyang is a credit to American diplomatic efforts.
Obama has placed an emphasis on good relations with Russia, China and India, all of which are crucial actors on the world stage. Good ties between Washington and these countries are important for international security and stability, so any improvements in relations are positive.
The recently announced deal on nuclear arms cuts between the US and Russia, for example, is to be welcomed and one hopes this trend will continue.
Although the China-US bilateral relationship is one of the most important in the world, one would have hoped for more of an emphasis by Washington on improved human rights in China as an incentive for improved ties between the two countries, but perhaps this will evolve over time.
Lastly, relations between the US and Europe have certainly improved, even though the two sides do not see eye to eye on everything, However, Europeans view Obama as a man they can definitely do business with and with whom they share common values, and that is already a major step forward.