The Queen will be meeting US President Joe Biden at Windsor Castle late this month, Buckingham Palace has announced today.
First Lady Jill Biden will also be greeted by Her Majesty on Sunday, June 13, the Palace said on Twitter.
President Biden is in the UK for the G7 Summit, being held at Carbis Bay in Cornwall, on June 11-13. It will be attended by other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Matt Hancock said yesterday that ministers attending the G7 health summit will discuss how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic worldwide, and will also address the “worldwide pandemic of misinformation”.
After meeting the Queen, President Biden is attending a Nato summit in Brussels on June 14.
The Nato summit will reaffirm the unity of the 30-nation security alliance — which has been riven by infighting in recent years — and focus on future threats and challenges.
“This is a pivotal moment for our alliance and our collective security,” Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the meetings. “In a more competitive and unpredictable world, we need transatlantic unity.”
Chief among the challenges is dealing with an increasingly aggressive Russia, whose defence minister announced on Monday that Russia would establish 20 new military units in its western sector this year to counter what it claims is a growing threat from Nato.
The rise of China and the impact of climate change — two of the Biden administration’s key interests — will also be discussed, along with missile defence, cyber and hybrid warfare, and the use of disinformation.
The most pressing subject for debate will be winding up Nato’s operations in Afghanistan. Mr Biden has pledged to have US troops out of the conflict-ravaged country by September 11, but many are likely to have left by the time the summit takes place.
Major questions remain over exactly how Nato will continue to fund the corruption-ridden Afghan security forces, whether to continue training special forces troops somewhere outside the country, and exactly who might provide security for civilian workers, embassies and Kabul’s airport.
