US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met in the United Kingdom on Thursday, ahead of the G7 Leaders’ Summit to be held from June 11 to June 13.
A joint statement released after the meeting stated that the leaders laid down the terms of an Atlantic Charter, which seeks to enhance cooperation on several issues, including democracy, human rights, and multilateralism, defence and security, and climate action.
The two leaders committed to jointly collaborate on strengthening democracy, human rights, and multilateralism. They vowed to work towards “defending media freedom, advancing a free and open internet, combating corruption, tackling disinformation, protecting civic space, advancing women’s political empowerment, protecting freedom of religion or belief, and promoting human rights of all people.” To this end, they reiterated the vital role played by the United Nations and agreed to work with the organisation to protect the “core values of its Charter.”
The leaders also discussed enhancing their cooperation on defence and security. The joint statement read, “We commit to enhance further the world’s strongest bilateral defence intelligence partnership to overcome the evolving threats of the twenty-first century.” This includes collaboration on a wide spectrum of issues including cyberspace, foreign interference, and terrorism in all its forms. In this regard, they outlined a vision to strengthen NATO and establish it as the “bedrock of [their] collective defence.”
The American and British premiers also talked about working with their international partners to push for combating climate change and motivating them to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement. They highlighted their commitment towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and celebrated the Industrial Decarbonisation Agenda of the G7, which will “help drive innovation in, and lower costs of, the decarbonisation of heavy industrial sectors across the world.”
The leaders also discussed the controversial issue of Northern Ireland and applauded the “huge strides” taken by its leaders since the reconciliation process, which began 23 years ago. They reiterated their commitment towards the Good Friday Agreement and its three-pronged approach, which “established the democratic institutions in Northern Ireland; provided for consultation, co-operation and action across the island of Ireland; and created structures for British-Irish engagement.” Furthermore, they agreed to closely collaborate with all related parties to protect the “delicate balance” in Northern Ireland and unlock its “tremendous potential.”
The European Union and the UK have been at loggerheads over the Northern Ireland controversy since the UK exited the bloc. Amid this rising disagreement, the US’ intervention is likely to ease the tensions between its two close allies.
Read more: EU Initiates Legal Action Against the UK Over Northern Ireland Controversy
The premiers also discussed enhancing their partnership in science and technology through a new landmark bilateral technology partnership in 2021-2022. The importance of enhancing their partnership in trade and health was also highlighted during the meeting. Several issues of international concern, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, and Russia, were also discussed
After the meeting, the US and UK launched a new partnership between the UK Health Security Agency and the US National Centre for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analysis. This aims to enhance preparedness for future pandemics through disease surveillance, genomic and variant sequencing, and sharing of resources. The UK also set up a new Centre for Pandemic Preparedness, which aims to work in collaboration with the UK’s scientific and academic partners from across the world.