PARIS (dpa-AFX) - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has arrived in Germany on the first leg of his European tour with the aim of resetting the UK's relationship with Europe.
He is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Wednesday, followed by talks with French President Emmanuel Macron the next day.
Starmer and Scholz will launch negotiations on a new bilateral treaty, which is expected to boost business and trade, deepen defense and security cooperation, and increase joint action on illegal migration.
Germany is Europe's largest economy and the UK's second largest trading partner, accounting for 8.5 percent of all UK trade.
While in Berlin, the UK Prime Minister will also meet Dr.Christian Bruch, chief executive of Siemens Energy. The company employs more than 6,000 people in the UK.
Starmer will also meet Armin Theodor Papperger, the chief executive of German defence and security company, Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall is also vital to the modernization of the British Army, recently making significant investments in its Telford Hub to deliver Boxer armored fighting vehicles.
Starmer will travel to Paris to attend the Paralympics Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night. He will meet with French business leaders, including from Thales, Eutelsat, Mistral AI and Sanofi, during breakfast on Thursday morning. He will invite major investors into the UK economy, the Prime Minister's Office said.
'We have a once in a generation opportunity to reset our relationship with Europe and strive for genuine, ambitious partnerships that deliver for the British people,' Starmer said in a statement issued ahead of his tour.
'We must turn a corner on Brexit and fix the broken relationships left behind by the previous government. That work started at the European Political Community meeting last month, and I am determined to continue it, which is why I am visiting Germany and France this week.'
The new Labor Prime Minister added that strengthening UK's relationship with these countries is crucial, 'not only in tackling the global problem of illegal migration, but also in boosting economic growth across the continent and crucially in the UK.'
The two-day European visit comes after Starmer hosted Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa at Downing Street on Tuesday, to progress inward investment from the Gulf.
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