Sunak in Paris for a meeting with Macron
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will agree on closer defense and security ties with French President Emmanuel Macron at today's meeting in Paris and will push for greater cooperation in support of Ukraine and the Indo-European region, reports Reuters. Sunak is traveling to Paris with several ministers for a summit covering both migration and energy, as the two countries seek to repair bilateral ties damaged by Britain's exit from the European Union.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has strengthened British-French ties and, ahead of the meeting, Sunak's office said Britain and France would coordinate the supply of arms to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian troops. They will also discuss establishing a permanent European naval presence in the Indo-Pacific and developing next-generation high-precision weapons to strengthen NATO's capacity.
"As we face unprecedented new threats, it is vital that we strengthen the structures of our alliance so that we can meet the challenges of the future. That is what we will do at the UK-France summit," Sunak said in a statement.
Britain has announced it will host next year's meeting of the European Political Community - a group proposed by Macron to deepen European cooperation after Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Sunak also said he wants to tackle the scourge of illegal migration as he tries to reach an agreement with France to stop small boats reaching England's southern coast through the English Channel.
In November, Britain and France signed a €72,2 million deal to boost efforts to stop illegal migrants making the dangerous journey, and this week Britain unveiled new legislation to tackle the issue.
"We are certainly going there with the ambition to agree to move forward with stopping boats taking these dangerous crossings," a Sunak spokesman said before the trip. Regarding energy security, Sunak and Macron will discuss how to ensure more reliable and cheaper sources of energy.
