Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump plan to hold talks soon in Washington, the two sides confirmed Friday.
“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 Trump’s special envoy to the UK Mark Burnett in London on Thursday “during which he took a call from President Trump and discussed his forthcoming visit to the US”, Downing Street said.
It was at least the third time Starmer and Trump have spoken on the phone since the latter’s election win in November.
Downing Street has been in talks with US counterparts about Starmer visiting Washington for several weeks but neither side have announced a confirmed date.
Trump has already welcomed a few world leaders to the White House, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Mirror newspaper said Friday there have been discussions about King Charles III making an official visit to the US early next year. The report has not been confirmed.
Starmer’s planned trip comes as Britain faces the looming threat of US trade tariffs.
The UK said this week it was “engaging” with Washington on the detail of the president’s steel tariffs, in contrast to firm responses by Canada and the European Union.
Seeking to keep Britain’s closest ally onside, Starmer told parliament Wednesday: “The US and the UK share a strong and balanced trading relationship, we invest hugely in each other’s economies and we will continue to work closely with President Trump to boost growth and to create jobs.”
Tariffs could make it harder for the UK government to achieve its main objective of firing up anaemic economic growth.
Starmer faces the unenviable task of trying to stay in Trump’s good books while simultaneously seeking deeper relations with the European Union.
The UK government has been at pains not to criticise any of Trump’s early moves, including over the war in Ukraine and Gaza.
That is despite the fact that Starmer has come under personal attack from tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk.
The Labour prime minister and then-Republican candidate dined for two hours in New York in September.
