British Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to Germany to drive forward a post-Brexit reset with Europe, which will also include a visit to France in pursuit of agreements to tackle shared challenges of economic growth and illegal migration.
In the German capital of Berlin, Starmer met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to launch negotiations on a new bilateral treaty expected to boost business and trade, deepen defence and security cooperation, and increase joint action on illegal migration.
According to PTI, During their meeting, Starmer conveyed that his new Labour government is focused on ensuring the UK moves beyond Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) to rebuild relationships with key partners to drive 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 largest economy and the UK’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.5 per cent of all UK trade. From Berlin, Starmer will travel on to Paris for the Paralympics Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night, before meeting French business leaders and major investors into the UK economy .
France is the UK’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 6 per cent of all UK trade. The UK Prime Minister will then go on to meet Paralympians as they prepare for competition, before meeting 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.
