US President Joe Biden will host British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on June 8 (local time) as the British leader makes his first visit to the White House as Prime Minister.
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| US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met at the US-UK-Australia Summit (AUKUS) in mid-March in California. (Source: Getty Images) |
The talks in the Oval Office between the two leaders are expected to address the conflict in Ukraine, relations with China, economic security, international cooperation in regulating the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, and a range of other issues.
The two leaders have had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became British Prime Minister last October, but the talks in Washington will offer them their most sustained opportunity for interaction to date.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has lasted 15 months, will be "a top priority."
The United States and the United Kingdom are the two largest donors to Ukraine in the conflict and play a central role in the long-term effort, announced last month, to train and equip Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
Mr. Rishi is also seeking to persuade President Biden to allow British Defence Minister Ben Wallace to assume the position of Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), replacing Jens Stoltenberg, whose term as leader of the 31-member military alliance ends this September.
Mr. Stoltenberg is expected to meet with President Biden in Washington on June 12, and leaders of NATO member states are expected to gather in Lithuania from July 11-12 for the alliance's annual summit.
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