A Downing Street spokesperson said:
“The Prime Minister met US President Biden in San Diego
today.
“The leaders welcomed today’s announcement of the next phase in
the AUKUS defence programme, which will see Australia build
submarines supported by the UK and US.
“The Prime Minister updated President Biden on the UK’s updated
national security and foreign policy strategy, which has been
published today. The leaders agreed on the convergence between
the UK and US’ ambitions and interests in the world, and on the
importance of working together to bring about global
stability.
“The Prime Minister and President Biden discussed the need to
remain steadfast in our support of Ukraine and staunch opposition
to Putin’s abuse of international law and disregard for human
life. The Prime Minister detailed the UK’s accelerated support to
Ukraine, both in terms of the volume of support and the advanced
nature of the capabilities we are providing – including tanks and
training.
“The leaders agreed that, as Ukraine’s two biggest international
supporters, the UK and US have a role to play coordinating
international efforts to support Ukraine. We need to ensure that
Ukraine both wins the war and secures a lasting peace where it
cannot be threatened by Russia in the same way again.
“On China, they noted the challenged posed by the increased
assertiveness of the Chinese Communist Party. The Prime Minister
outlined the steps the UK is taking to protect our national and
economic security interests. The leaders agreed on the need to
engage China and maintain dialogue.
“The Prime Minister stressed the importance of likeminded
countries working together to protect our shared economic
security, providing an active alternative to those governments
who use protectionism and unfair market practices to destabilise
the global economy.
“The leaders discussed the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The Prime
Minister expressed his hope that our governments can continue to
work together to increase jobs and growth in both of our
countries as we transition towards Net Zero.
“The President and Prime Minister discussed the importance of
further deepening the strong, enduring economic relationship
between the UK and US. President Biden invited the Prime
Minister to visit Washington in June to continue this
conversation.
“The US and UK will work and invest together to drive the clean
energy transition, foster the industries of the future and
bolster our economies’ resilience to a range of shocks. Our
two countries will explore ways to deepen our trade and
investment relationship and confront the shared economic and
national security challenges we face.
“The leaders agreed that their teams should work intensively to
advance this agenda, making progress ahead of the G7 Summit in
May. As part of these efforts, the US and UK will
work within the G7, with other international partners and
bilaterally to strengthen and diversify critical supply
chains, including for critical minerals.
“The Prime Minister invited President Biden to Northern Ireland
next month to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of
the Good Friday Agreement.”
