The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and US President, Donald Trump, have agreed to hold talks in Washington soon. “He asked for a meeting, and I agreed,” Trump told reporters.
“We’re going to have a friendly meeting. We have a lot of good things going on. I think he wants to come next week or the weekend.” Starmer met with Trump’s special envoy to the UK, Mark Burnett, in London on Thursday and took a call from President Trump.
Downing Street has been in talks with US counterparts about Starmer’s visit to Washington for several weeks, but neither side has announced a confirmed date. Trump has already welcomed a few world leaders to the White House, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Mirror newspaper reported on Friday that King Charles III may make an official visit to the US early next year, but this has not been confirmed.
Starmer, Britain’s closest ally, stated in parliament on Wednesday that the US and the UK have a strong and balanced trading relationship, invest heavily in each other’s economies, and will continue to work closely with President Trump to boost growth and create jobs. However, tariffs may hinder the UK government’s goal of boosting anaemic economic growth.
The UK government has been careful not to oppose any of Trump’s early initiatives, notably the conflict in Ukraine and Gaza. This is despite the fact that Elon Musk, a tech billionaire and Trump ally, has personally attacked Starmer. In September, the Labour prime minister and then-Republican candidate had a two-hour dinner in New York.
