Washington: President Joe Biden welcomed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for wide-ranging talks on Thursday as the British leader made his first White House visit as premier.
The leaders’ Oval Office talks are expected to cover the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence, and more. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington will offer the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine will be “top of mind.” The U.S. and U.K. are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
Sunak also is looking to make the case to Biden for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace to succeed outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is set to end his term leading the 31-member alliance in September. Stoltenberg is slated to meet with Biden in Washington on Monday, and leaders from the alliance are set to gather in Lithuania on July 11-12 for their annual summit.
“The two leaders will review a range of global issues including our economic partnership or shared support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s war of aggression, as well as further action to accelerate the clean energy transition,” Jean-Pierre said. “The president and the prime minister will also discuss the joint U.S.-U.K. leadership on critical emerging technologies as well as our work to strengthen our economic security.”
Sunak is keen to make the U.K. a key player in artificial intelligence, and announced that his government will gather politicians, scientists and tech executives for a summit on AI safety in the fall.
He said it was vital to ensure that “paradigm-shifting new technologies” are harnessed for the good of humanity.
“No one country can do this alone,” Sunak said. “This is going to take a global effort.”
Sunak’s visit comes as U.S. and British intelligence officials are still trying to sort out blame for the breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters gushing through towns and over farmland. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric
dam.