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WASHINGTON: The war in Ukraine topped Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s agenda on Wednesday as he embarked on a two-day trip to Washington with the message that Britain after Britain’s exit from the European Union It remains an essential American ally in a world where authoritarian states are emboldened.
The United States and the United Kingdom are Ukraine’s largest military donors, and the war will be the focus of Sunak’s meeting Thursday at the White House with President Joe Biden.
The breach of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters into cities and over farmland, gave the topic more urgency. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, but Sunak told reporters during his trip to Washington that he would “show the new lows we were going to see from Russian aggression. “
Britain and the United States are key players in an international effort to give back Fighter aircraft F-16 UkraineThe talks are likely to include additional air defense measures against Russian bombing While Ukraine launched a counter-attack to regain the occupied territories.
Sunak’s trip is his first to the US capital since taking office in October, but it is his fourth meeting with Biden in as many months. The two leaders have crossed paths at the G7 summit in Japan and Northern Ireland and at a trilateral defense meeting with Australia in San Diego.
Sunak, 43, and Biden, 80, are very different politicians. Sunak is the heir apparent to free-market Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and he is wary of massive government interventions in the economy such as the Biden Inflation Act, a massive package of tax breaks and subsidies aimed at boosting green industries.
But he is also a pragmatist, and he has restored stability to the British government after the turbulent terms of his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Johnson advocated populism Britain’s exit movement from the European Union He led Britain out of the European Union, a decision Biden made clear he believed hurt Britain’s Truss had been in office for less than two months, resigning after her reckless plans to cut taxes led to a financial crisis.
Sunak, who has been handpicked by the ruling Conservatives to replace Truss, has reassured Washington by smoothing ties with the European Union and striking a deal with Brussels to resolve the long-running dispute over Northern Ireland trade.
In his meeting with Biden, Sunak will push for closer economic ties between the US and the UK, arguing that economic cooperation is as important to security as defense alliances.
“Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a decisive advantage in the coming decades,” Sunak said before the talks.
A British government official who reviewed Sunak’s agenda on condition of anonymity said Sunak wants to discuss ways to protect supply chains from hostile actors and how to ensure China does not have a market monopoly in the production of semiconductors and other key parts,
However, he will not pay for a file Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States. British officials accept that the long-sought goal of Brexiteers is now on the ice.
Sunak, a Stanford University MBA graduate who dreams of creating Britain’s Silicon Valley, wants to discuss the promise and risks of artificial intelligence. He is keen to ensure that the UK is not excluded from US-EU talks on the subject.
Sunak floated the idea that the UK could be a hub for regulating fast-moving technology, though no major news on that front was expected during his trip.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Max Blaine, said Britain’s approach to regulation, “Agile and able to adapt to the rapid pace of this technology, makes the UK well-positioned to take a leadership role here.”
Sunak is also likely to press British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to become the next head of NATO after Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stepped down in September. The prime minister is expected to stress that the next secretary general must be someone who “does Stoltenberg a good job of modernizing but also understands the importance of defense spending at this critical time.”
The comment could be seen as a careful dig at another potential candidate for the post, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who met Biden in Washington earlier this week. Denmark has lagged behind NATO’s target of members spending 2% of GDP on military budgets by 2030.
Sunak is also scheduled to meet US executives and hold talks with congressional leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday night he will attend a baseball game in Washington – although he will not throw out the opening pitch, to the disappointment of the British media.
And Sunak stressed that he did not intend at all to leave the stadium in the match, which includes military teams and a flyover to celebrate. Relations between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“My sport is more cricket than baseball, anyway,” he said.
The United States and the United Kingdom are Ukraine’s largest military donors, and the war will be the focus of Sunak’s meeting Thursday at the White House with President Joe Biden.
The breach of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters into cities and over farmland, gave the topic more urgency. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, but Sunak told reporters during his trip to Washington that he would “show the new lows we were going to see from Russian aggression. “
Britain and the United States are key players in an international effort to give back Fighter aircraft F-16 UkraineThe talks are likely to include additional air defense measures against Russian bombing While Ukraine launched a counter-attack to regain the occupied territories.
Sunak’s trip is his first to the US capital since taking office in October, but it is his fourth meeting with Biden in as many months. The two leaders have crossed paths at the G7 summit in Japan and Northern Ireland and at a trilateral defense meeting with Australia in San Diego.
Sunak, 43, and Biden, 80, are very different politicians. Sunak is the heir apparent to free-market Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and he is wary of massive government interventions in the economy such as the Biden Inflation Act, a massive package of tax breaks and subsidies aimed at boosting green industries.
But he is also a pragmatist, and he has restored stability to the British government after the turbulent terms of his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Johnson advocated populism Britain’s exit movement from the European Union He led Britain out of the European Union, a decision Biden made clear he believed hurt Britain’s Truss had been in office for less than two months, resigning after her reckless plans to cut taxes led to a financial crisis.
Sunak, who has been handpicked by the ruling Conservatives to replace Truss, has reassured Washington by smoothing ties with the European Union and striking a deal with Brussels to resolve the long-running dispute over Northern Ireland trade.
In his meeting with Biden, Sunak will push for closer economic ties between the US and the UK, arguing that economic cooperation is as important to security as defense alliances.
“Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a decisive advantage in the coming decades,” Sunak said before the talks.
A British government official who reviewed Sunak’s agenda on condition of anonymity said Sunak wants to discuss ways to protect supply chains from hostile actors and how to ensure China does not have a market monopoly in the production of semiconductors and other key parts,
However, he will not pay for a file Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States. British officials accept that the long-sought goal of Brexiteers is now on the ice.
Sunak, a Stanford University MBA graduate who dreams of creating Britain’s Silicon Valley, wants to discuss the promise and risks of artificial intelligence. He is keen to ensure that the UK is not excluded from US-EU talks on the subject.
Sunak floated the idea that the UK could be a hub for regulating fast-moving technology, though no major news on that front was expected during his trip.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Max Blaine, said Britain’s approach to regulation, “Agile and able to adapt to the rapid pace of this technology, makes the UK well-positioned to take a leadership role here.”
Sunak is also likely to press British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to become the next head of NATO after Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stepped down in September. The prime minister is expected to stress that the next secretary general must be someone who “does Stoltenberg a good job of modernizing but also understands the importance of defense spending at this critical time.”
The comment could be seen as a careful dig at another potential candidate for the post, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who met Biden in Washington earlier this week. Denmark has lagged behind NATO’s target of members spending 2% of GDP on military budgets by 2030.
Sunak is also scheduled to meet US executives and hold talks with congressional leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday night he will attend a baseball game in Washington – although he will not throw out the opening pitch, to the disappointment of the British media.
And Sunak stressed that he did not intend at all to leave the stadium in the match, which includes military teams and a flyover to celebrate. Relations between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“My sport is more cricket than baseball, anyway,” he said.
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