Washington (EFE).- The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, began their meeting on Thursday at the White House with a focus on the war in Ukraine, the global economy and intelligence artificial.
The two leaders made statements to the media at the beginning of the meeting and agreed that the world is undergoing its greatest transformation since the industrial revolution with artificial intelligence as a key component of that change.
“While new technologies give us incredible opportunities, they also give our adversaries more tools to do harm,” warned Sunak, who studied in Silicon Valley and wants the UK to lead efforts to regulate artificial intelligence.
Just a few hours ago, the British government announced that it will organize the first international summit next autumn to assess the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, a subject on which the US and the European Union have already opened a dialogue but in in which London has not participated as actively as it is not part of the community club.
For this reason, Sunak wants to discuss artificial intelligence with Biden and also wants to use the visit to strengthen economic ties between the two nations, arguing that economic cooperation is as crucial to global security as military alliances.
According to a spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington, Sunak will express to Biden his desire to “prioritize economic security” in a similar way to defense cooperation before.
Lastly, both leaders made it clear in their statements to the press that the war in Ukraine occupies a central place on the meeting’s agenda.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the latest developments in the war, including the early Tuesday morning destruction of a dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, which has led to the flooding of nearby towns and the eviction of thousands of neighbors
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the tragedy, and so far neither the US nor the UK have held either side responsible for the incident.
This is Sunak’s first visit to the White House since he became prime minister in October 2022, although the two leaders have met three times before.
Curiously, Sunak is the first British leader to stay at Blair House, the official residence for foreign leaders visiting Washington, since then-Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016) did so in 2015.
Sunak joked about the large amount of space available at Blair House, which has 109 rooms.
“Thank you for welcoming me to the White House and for letting me stay at Blair House, which I have to say has little to do with that guest room at 10 Downing Street,” Sunak said with a smile.
Biden, sitting next to him in the Oval Office, reacted by laughing and nodding.
Both leaders will give a press conference at the end of their meeting.