PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak meeting with US President Joe Biden [March 2023]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 March 2023.

The Prime Minister met US President Biden in San Diego today.

The leaders welcomed today’s announcement of the next phase in the AUKUS defence programme, which will see Australia build submarines supported by the UK and US.

The Prime Minister updated President Biden on the UK’s updated national security and foreign policy strategy, which has been published today. The leaders agreed on the convergence between the UK and US’ ambitions and interests in the world, and on the importance of working together to bring about global stability.

The Prime Minister and President Biden discussed the need to remain steadfast in our support of Ukraine and staunch opposition to Putin’s abuse of international law and disregard for human life. The Prime Minister detailed the UK’s accelerated support to Ukraine, both in terms of the volume of support and the advanced nature of the capabilities we are providing – including tanks and training.

The leaders agreed that, as Ukraine’s two biggest international supporters, the UK and US have a role to play coordinating international efforts to support Ukraine. We need to ensure that Ukraine both wins the war and secures a lasting peace where it cannot be threatened by Russia in the same way again.

On China, they noted the challenged posed by the increased assertiveness of the Chinese Communist Party. The Prime Minister outlined the steps the UK is taking to protect our national and economic security interests. The leaders agreed on the need to engage China and maintain dialogue.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of likeminded countries working together to protect our shared economic security, providing an active alternative to those governments who use protectionism and unfair market practices to destabilise the global economy.

The leaders discussed the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that our governments can continue to work together to increase jobs and growth in both of our countries as we transition towards Net Zero.

The President and Prime Minister discussed the importance of further deepening the strong, enduring economic relationship between the UK and US. President Biden invited the Prime Minister to visit Washington in June to continue this conversation.

The US and UK will work and invest together to drive the clean energy transition, foster the industries of the future and bolster our economies’ resilience to a range of shocks. Our two countries will explore ways to deepen our trade and investment relationship and confront the shared economic and national security challenges we face.

The leaders agreed that their teams should work intensively to advance this agenda, making progress ahead of the G7 Summit in May. As part of these efforts, the US and UK will work within the G7, with other international partners and bilaterally to strengthen and diversify critical supply chains, including for critical minerals.

The Prime Minister invited President Biden to Northern Ireland next month to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.