Starmer: "Truly Mutual Admiring Leaders" with Trump

On the final day of his visit to the UK, Trump finally signed a technology cooperation agreement with Starmer. On the second day of the visit, both sides had already announced an investment plan worth hundreds of billions of pounds. Trump promised that this agreement would make "the United States and our British allies lead the future of artificial intelligence," and emphasized the "unbreakable bond" between the US and the UK. The press conference held this afternoon was also noteworthy.

After a grand royal reception at Windsor Castle, Trump spent the entire day on Thursday at the Prime Minister's country residence Chequers, conducting political and economic activities during this visit. The leaders signed a cooperation agreement covering areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy in a tent in the park of the Chequers estate, along with representatives from tech giants such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Starmer praised this as "the largest investment plan in British history."

Since Sunday, a total of 150 billion pounds (about 172.7 billion euros) in American investment plans have been announced to enter the UK, including investments from companies such as Microsoft, Google, and the Blackstone fund. British pharmaceutical giant GSK plans to invest 3 billion dollars in the US over the next five years. This has greatly pleased Trump, who has long urged major industry players to increase their investments in the US.

However, Starmer may be disappointed on the issue of tariffs. Although he hoped through long-term negotiations to obtain an exemption from the 25% tariff imposed on British steel since May, this exemption seems difficult to achieve. However, as the leader of the Labour Party, Starmer acted as a mediator between Trump and European countries on the issue of the Ukraine war. London supports strengthening support for Kyiv and increasing pressure on Russia through more sanctions.

Previously, Starmer held bilateral talks with Trump, discussing foreign policy sensitive topics including Ukraine and Gaza. Starmer called the two of them "truly mutual admiring leaders." Additionally, considering Trump's admiration for Winston Churchill, Starmer showed him historical archives of the UK's former prime minister.

At the grand state banquet held in Windsor on Wednesday evening, King Charles III praised Trump for his "personal commitment to ending conflicts around the world." However, some sensitive issues, such as the Gaza war, may result in new statements during the press conference later that day due to differing positions between the two sides.

The subsequent press conference was notable. According to The Times, to avoid this issue triggering excessive media discussion and differences with the US, Starmer will delay announcing the plan to recognize Palestine until the weekend, preparing to discuss it at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Moreover, the Epstein case, which has troubled Trump for weeks, may also be mentioned during the press conference. This case has affected Trump for several weeks, leading to the dismissal of Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to Washington, by Starmer last week due to the scandal of Mandelson's close relationship with Epstein. Starmer faced criticism within the party for appointing Mandelson, who had a deep personal friendship with Epstein, to such a key position.

President Trump and First Lady are expected to depart for Washington later this afternoon, completing this state visit to the UK, which lasted 28 hours.

Source: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843661813045449/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.