London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Nov 22, 2025

G7: PM and Blinken discuss 'close alignment' of UK-US foreign policy

G7: PM and Blinken discuss 'close alignment' of UK-US foreign policy

Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the "close alignment" between foreign policy in London and Washington during their meeting earlier, No 10 has said.

A No 10 spokeswoman said the PM and Mr Blinken agreed UK-US co-operation would be "instrumental" in tackling Covid-19.

They also welcomed their nations' joint work on areas like trade and defence.

It came as G7 powers met in London for their first face-to-face meetings in over two years.

The group is discussing challenges including climate change and threats to human rights. The talks, held amid tight Covid restrictions, will finish on Wednesday.

The G7 group - the world's seven largest so-called advanced economies - is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa have also been invited as guests, as the UK tries to deepen ties with the Indo-Pacific region.

The UK, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7, will host a leaders' summit in Cornwall next month.

At their meeting, Mr Johnson and Mr Blinken agreed that UK-US co-operation would be "instrumental" in making progress in the fight against coronavirus, alongside "protecting the environment and other international priorities", the spokeswoman said.

They also agreed that the global rollout of coronavirus vaccines would be key in beating the pandemic, and emphasised the "importance of G7 work in this area, including efforts to increase international manufacturing capability".

The spokeswoman added that foreign policy issues, including Afghanistan, Iran and China, were also discussed, and Mr Johnson "looked forward to welcoming" US President Joe Biden to the UK when he attends the leaders' summit in June - his first overseas trip since his election victory.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the summit of foreign ministers "demonstrates that diplomacy is back", and showed the importance of "getting countries together".

Mr Raab, wearing a face mask, welcomed counterparts earlier at Lancaster House in London, with forearm bumps replacing the usual handshakes.

After talks on Myanmar on Tuesday morning, the G7 discussed issues including the crisis in Libya and the war in Syria.

Politicians kept their distance for the traditional group photo

Mr Raab was expected to urge stronger co-operation between the G7 and the guest nations at a working dinner on Tuesday evening.

Speaking ahead of the dinner on Tuesday, he told reporters the summit provided a "good opportunity" to talk to India, a guest at the summit, about how G7 nations could help the country amid its spike in Covid cases.

This included a chance to seek "positive answers" about what developed nations would do with surplus domestic supplies of vaccines, he added.


Lancaster House in central London has played host to many historic negotiations, but rarely will it have seen such diplomatic speed dating as it will later.

For the next few days, foreign ministers will scurry round the clock from meeting to meeting, doing as much business face to face as they can after months of virtual diplomacy.

They will discuss the world's big geopolitical issues: from China to Myanmar, Ethiopia to Ukraine, Syria to the Sahel.

The underlying theme will be how they can best organise to defend international rules and open societies against the threat of autocratic regimes.

And for the UK, the meeting's host, it's a big test to see if its global foreign policy can live up to its name.

The summit comes amid criticism over the UK's decision to cut overseas aid spending from 0.7% of national income to 0.5% - a reduction of more than £4bn.

Mr Raab said this had been a "difficult decision" but that the UK still had scope "to be an even greater force for good in the world".

On Monday, it was announced that the G7 would use the summit to commit to investing $15bn (£10.8bn) to help women in developing countries.

They are also expected to agree a new target of sending 40 million more girls from low and middle-income countries to school within five years.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
×