US president Joe Biden will meet Britain's King Charles III and UK prime minister Rishi Sunak when he visits the UK before heading to Lithuania and Finland in an overseas trip from July 9th-13th, the White House said.
A visit to the UK had long been expected and comes after Mr Sunak visited Washington last month for talks Mr Biden.
“President Biden is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland from July 9th-13th.
“President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Mr Biden made a brief trip to Northern Ireland earlier this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, meeting Mr Sunak for brief talks in Belfast.
The White House said that after visiting the UK, Mr Biden would “then travel to Vilnius, Lithuania from July 11th- 12th to attend the 74th Nato Summit”.
“On July 13th, President Biden will visit Helsinki, Finland for a US-Nordic Leaders Summit.”
The apparently short trip by Mr Biden comes after the US and the UK announced a new partnership, the 'Atlantic Declaration', to bolster economic security.
Announced during Mr Sunak’s visit to the White House, it included commitments on easing trade barriers, closer defence industry ties and a data protection deal.
While both sides used that Washington visit to hail the strength of US-UK ties, Mr Biden has not been afraid of occasionally criticising London.
In May, Mr Biden claimed that he visited Ireland earlier this year to ensure the “Brits didn’t screw around”, amid ongoing US concern about the impact of Brexit on peace in the North.
During that visit, Mr Biden told the Dáil that he believed the UK should be working more closely with the administration in Dublin to support Northern Ireland.
