A visit had long been anticipated and comes after Sunak visited Washington last month for talks with the US president…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden will meet King Charles in a visit to the UK later this month, Buckingham Palace has announced.
In a statement, the palace confirmed the US president will meet the monarch at Windsor Castle on 10 July.
Biden will also meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his five-day overseas trip, starting with a stop in the UK on 9 July to the UK, before going to Lithuania and Finland.
A visit had long been anticipated and comes after Sunak visited Washington last month for talks with the US president.
Biden attended the funeral of the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September and joined him and other leaders for an evening reception before the ceremony.
The White House said: “President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations.”
Downing Street said Sunak “looks forward to welcoming President Biden in the UK later this month”.
A No 10 spokesperson added that the upcoming visit “reflects the strong relationship” between the UK and US, and further details will be set out in due course.
After visiting the UK, the White House said Biden will then travel to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from 11 to 12 July to attend the 74th NATO Summit.
The apparently short trip by Biden comes after the US and the UK announced a new partnership, the ‘Atlantic Declaration’, to bolster economic security.
Announced during Sunak’s visit to the White House, it included commitments on easing trade barriers, closer defence industry ties and a data protection deal.
Biden also made a brief trip to Northern Ireland earlier this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, meeting the prime minister for brief talks in Belfast.
The US president claimed in May that he visited the island of Ireland earlier this year to ensure the “Brits didn’t screw around”, amid ongoing US concern about the impact of Brexit on the peace process.
During that visit, the president told the Irish parliament that he believed the UK should be working more closely with the administration in Dublin to support Northern Ireland.
On the other hand, the No. 10 said that Sunak “looks forward to welcoming President Biden in the UK later this month”. The meeting will come just weeks after Sunak jetted off to Washington for talks with Biden. Back then, the US and the UK announced a new partnership dubbed the ‘Atlantic Declaration’, which aims to boost economic security.
After his trip to London, Biden is scheduled to travel to Vilnius, Lithuania to attend the 74th Nato Summit, followed by a visit to Helsinki, Finland on July 13 for a US-Nordic Leaders Summit.
The White House is preparing to welcome Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Washington next week to discuss the nation’s bid to join Nato.
Sweden asked to join the alliance last year, but its membership bid was blocked by Turkey and Hungary. Top Turkish and Swedish diplomats are expected to meet on Thursday in Brussels for more talks on Stockholm’s push to join Nato.
But the chances of a change of heart on Turkey’s part are dwindling after the Scandinavian country allowed a protest during which a Quran was burnt in public for the second time this year. Turkish and Arab officials strongly denounced the decision.
Last month, Biden and Sunak announced a new economic agreement that aims to boost ties on defence and renewable energy but falls short of the full free trade deal sought by the United Kingdom since its withdrawal from the European Union.
The two leaders had unveiled the Atlantic Declaration as Sunak made his first visit to the White House as prime minister.
Under the new economic framework, the United States and the UK “resolve to partner to build resilient, diversified, and secure supply chains and reduce strategic dependencies” on countries such as China and Russia, according to a joint statement.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Biden, Sunak had denied that the new partnership – which also included agreements to cooperate on strategic technologies and export controls and more securely share data – signalled that the UK’s pursuit of a free trade deal with Washington had failed.
Such an agreement had long been touted by supporters of the UK’s 2020 withdrawal from the EU but has remained elusive.
“If you look at what we’ve announced today, what it does respond to is the particular opportunities and challenges that we face right now and into the future,” Sunak said.
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