Rishi flies to Washington for talks with Biden
RISHI Sunak will fly to Washington DC today for talks with Joe Biden.
On his first official visit to the US capital since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Sunak is set to discuss the war in Ukraine, security and trade between the two countries.
The PM is also expected to outline his ambition for Britain to lead the world in tackling the threats posed by artificial intelligence – and could mention Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s bid for Nato’s top job.
Mr Sunak will also watch a baseball game with business leaders and political figures – the Washington Nationals against the Arizona D-backs tomorrow evening.
The trip will also see Mr Sunak address a gathering of US chief executives as he seeks to build closer economic ties despite shelving plans to broker a post-Brexit free trade deal. The White House has billed his visit as an opportunity to discuss support for Ukraine as well as protecting the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.
Mr Sunak is looking to launch a global AI watchdog in London, and hopes to host an international summit to devise rules on regulation of the technology.
Yesterday the PM dodged a question about whether he will use his trip to lobby
‘Deliver for the British people’
for Mr Wallace to take over as Nato secretary-general. Mr Wallace is seen as a potential contender for the soon-to-be vacant role leading the military alliance, replacing Jens Stoltenberg.
The PM reportedly hopes to encourage Mr Biden to back Mr Wallace for the role but, speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Sunak did not comment directly.
‘Ben does a fantastic job. He is a great Defence Secretary,’ Mr Sunak said.
‘This is a conversation that is happening amongst leaders around the world more generally and I’m sure it will continue to happen. Ben is widely respected among his colleagues around the world.
‘We’re one of the only countries that participates in every single Nato operation. We are widely perceived as a thought leader in Nato. And I think if you asked the Nato secretary-general, he would agree with everything I’ve just said.’
Mr Sunak’s official working visit to the White House will take place on Thursday.
He and Mr Biden have already met in San Diego, Belfast and at the G7 summit in Hiroshima. Last week the PM said he was ‘looking forward to seeing the President... to deliver for the British people.’