Trump concludes United Kingdom state visit post-encounter with Starmer
During his second state visit to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a landmark agreement focusing on science and technology. The deal, which includes significant investments from US tech giants, is expected to bring thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the UK's AI sector, quantum computing, and nuclear energy.
The agreement, yet to reveal all its details, also includes a UK arm of Stargate, a Trump-backed AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI. US companies Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google have concretely announced investments in British artificial intelligence worth more than 40 billion dollars. Microsoft plans to invest around 30 billion dollars, Nvidia about 11 billion dollars, and Google 5 billion dollars in the next few years.
The royal family and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer conducted an all-out charm offensive towards President Trump. The pageantry and splendour of the visit left Trump expressing gratitude for the warm reception. He called King Charles III and Queen Camilla 'two fantastic people' and praised the hospitality during his visit.
However, the discussions between Trump and Starmer were not without points of dissent. The British government has grown increasingly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians. The leaders held cordial discussions on this matter, with Britain's impending move to recognise a Palestinian state being one of the topics.
On the issue of immigration, Trump urged Britain to take a harder line, emphasizing that too many illegal entries can destroy countries from within. Despite this, the agreement does not appear to include any concessions on Britain's digital services tax or internet regulation.
In a surprising turn of events, four people were arrested over a stunt that saw an image of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein projected on a tower at Windsor Castle. Despite the visit, Trump largely avoided discussing Epstein during his visit.
Trump and Starmer also discussed the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as US tariff rates on steel imported from Britain. The leaders did not make significant progress on reducing US tariffs on British auto, aerospace, steel, and aluminium industries.
In a subtle nod to political tensions, King Charles III, during his state banquet speech, offered a gentle nudge to Trump, noting 'as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace'. Trump has expressed frustration with Putin but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia.
US companies have pledged £150 billion (NZ$343 billion) in investment in the UK, including £90 billion (NZ$205 billion) from investment firm Blackstone in the next decade. This investment is set to transform the UK's technological landscape and bolster its standing as a global leader in AI, quantum computing, and nuclear energy.
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