Biden, Johnson to hold first face-to-face meeting

CARBIS BAY, United Kingdom: Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will hold their first face-to-face meeting Thursday, during which they will lay the foundations for a new pact, despite Brexit and its consequences in Northern Ireland casting a shadow on the old ‘special relationship’.

Biden – on his first overseas tour as US president – and the British Prime Minister are set to agree a modern version of a charter signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt, that set out post-war goals for democracy, trade and opportunity.

“The world needs this meeting,” Johnson wrote in an article released Thursday.

The new charter ‘encompasses science, technology and trade’ and ‘underscores our joint commitment to Nato,’ Johnson said.

But while keen to affirm the strength of the longcelebrated partnership, Biden has reportedly ordered US diplomats to scold Johnson over his handling of Brexit and its effects on the Northern Ireland peace process.

The Times daily reported America’s most senior diplomat in Britain, Yael Lempert, told Brexit Minister Lord Frost that the UK government was ‘inflaming’ tensions in Ireland and Europe with its opposition to checks at ports in the province.’

Port checks on deliveries heading into Northern Ireland from mainland Great Britain were agreed as part of the Brexit deal but caused consternation among unionist communities, who say it changes their place within the wider UK.

London suspended checks earlier this year because of threats to port staff, and the protocol has been blamed for the worst violence in years in the British-run province.

Biden kicked off his first foreign trip as commanderin-chief by announcing ‘the United States is back!’ while urging global collaboration to rebuild after Covid-19 and reset diplomatic ties after the Trump era. — AFP