Prime Minister Sunak's meeting with Biden in Northern Ireland not 'low-key', No 10 insists
Downing Street has denied that Rishi Sunak's interactions with Joe Biden in Northern Ireland this week are "low-key", despite reports their talks were downgraded by the US to a coffee meeting.
The Prime Minister will greet the US president off Air Force One when he arrives on Tuesday evening, with talks to follow in Belfast the next morning.
The White House pushed to scale back their meeting from a bilateral to a less formal coffee, the New York Times reported, quoting an official jokingly dubbing it a "bi-latte".
Asked why the plans appeared low-key, a No 10 spokesman told reporters: "I wouldn't characterise it as that. As I've said the Prime Minister will see him tonight, he will see him again tomorrow.
"You've seen the president's actions during his time demonstrate that we have a close relationship. His first visit outside of North America was to the UK, where he met both the Queen and the Prince of Wales."
"We continue to have an incredibly positive working relationship with the president and the US government."
Mr Sunak would raise the UK's "enduring partnership" with the US, trade and investment and other areas of shared interest, he said.
He played down the prospect of negotiations being reopened on a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US, saying this was "not the only way of strengthening the UK-US trade relationship" and highlighting pacts with individual states.
A free trade deal with the world's largest economy had been touted as one of the prizes of leaving the European Union but talks have stalled.
The Prime Minister will not attend Mr Biden's main engagement in Northern Ireland - a keynote speech at Ulster University on Wednesday.
The US president's visit has been timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which largely brought an end to the Troubles.
Mr Sunak said he was focusing on fulfilling the promise of the peace deal ahead of the commemorations, which come as powersharing in Stormont remains collapsed due to a protest by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The Prime Minister is not planning to meet Northern Ireland political leaders while in the region, but Downing Street denied this was a sign he had given up on getting the DUP back into powersharing.
The spokesman said: "It's the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's priority to get the executive up and running and he has had extensive engagement with the Northern Ireland political parties, as has the Prime Minister, over recent months.
"You'll be aware that he met with leaders over the past few months with regards specifically to the Windsor Framework.
"Our continued hope is that we can get Stormont back up and running as quickly as possible."
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