President Biden kicked off his trip to Europe on Monday morning with a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Biden arrived at 10 Downing Street about 10:40 a.m. local time and met with Sunak over tea in the garden.
After their meeting, Sunak noted it was Biden’s first visit to the country as president, telling him, “We’re very privileged and fortunate to have you here.” Biden joked that “we’ve only been meeting once a month” since Sunak took office last October.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about. I think we’re doing well. We’re moving along in a way that’s positive. But our relationship is rock solid,” Biden told reporters after the meeting.
Sunak said he and Biden will continue to discuss the Atlantic Declaration, which is an economic partnership between the U.S. and the U.K. the two leaders signed onto last month.
“Great for us to carry on our conversations, which we were having just a month or so ago, it feels like, in the White House, where we signed the Atlantic Declaration,” Sunak added.
Biden’s five-day trip to three European nations is expected to be dominated by discussions about the ongoing war in Ukraine and climate change.
Biden is also slated to meet with King Charles III on Monday for the first time since the royal coronation in May, which first lady Jill Biden attended but the president did not. Biden and Charles are expected to discuss environmental concerns and climate change, and the king long has been an advocate for the issues.
Biden last met Charles at the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. He also attended the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in September.
The highlight of Biden’s trip to Europe will be the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where leaders from NATO’s 31 members will discuss topics like the war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s potential bid to be a member of the alliance and defense spending levels.
The Associated Press contributed.