British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will head to Germany on Wednesday, part of a post-Brexit reset with Europe, including another stop in France, while pushing for agreements on shared challenges such as economic growth and illegal migration.
During his visit to the German capital, Berlin, Starmer met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to launch negotiations on a new bilateral treaty expected to promote business and trade, deepen defence and security co-operation, as well as enhance joint action against illegal migration.
During their meeting, Starmer made it known that his new Labour government is committed to ensuring the UK moves past Britain's exit from the European Union to rebuild relationships with key partners for growth across the continent.
"We must turn a corner on Brexit and fix the broken relationships left behind by the previous (Conservative) government," said Starmer.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our relationship with Europe and strive for genuine, ambitious partnerships that deliver for the British people… Strengthening our relationship with these countries is crucial, not only in tackling the global problem of illegal migration but also in boosting economic growth across the continent, and crucially in the UK – one of the key missions of my government," he said.
Germany is Europe's biggest economy and the UK's second-biggest trading partner, accounting for 8.5 per cent of all UK trade. From Berlin, Starmer will travel to Paris on Wednesday night for the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics, before meeting French business leaders and major investors into the UK economy on Thursday.
It is the UK's fourth-biggest trading partner, accounting for 6 per cent of all UK trade. Afterwards, the UK Prime Minister will go on to meet Paralympians as they prepare for competition, and then with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace in Paris.
Downing Street said the two-day European visit comes after the Prime Minister hosted Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, in London on Tuesday, to progress inward investment from the Gulf.
According to officials, Starmer's negotiating team will spend the next six months agreeing to the new German treaty, with both sides hoping to finish early next year.
According to Downing Street, the agreement is set to encompass key areas that make for even closer cooperation: market access, key science, innovation and tech, clean energy, trade across the North Sea, supply chain resilience, energy security, and green transition education, biodiversity, and environment. The UK reportedly says a treaty of this scale has never been agreed between the UK and Germany.
Furthermore, the leaders of Europe stressed that their shared actions on illegal migration included further intelligence sharing to intercept and shut down organized immigration crime rings.
Read also | Mexican President Suspends Relations with US Embassy Over Judicial Reform Dispute
Read also| Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos Announces Eighth Space Tourist Flight for Thursday
