President Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday morning on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in France, according to a senior administration official, one of several bilateral meetings at the summit.
Trump plans to have breakfast with Johnson in what is expected to be the first meeting between the two leaders since the outspoken British politician took over as the United Kingdom’s prime minister in July following Prime Minister Theresa May’s exit.
The meeting at the world leader summit in the seaside town of Biarritz this weekend follows several phone calls between Trump and Johnson over the past few weeks. The meeting was first reported by Bloomberg.{mosads}
The two are expected to discuss the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, commonly known as Brexit, as well the prospect of brokering a bilateral free trade agreement between the U.S. and Britain, Trump administration officials told reporters on Thursday.
Trump will also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the summit.
Broadly, Trump is expected to focus on trade during the G-7 meetings. Officials said the president plans to discuss regional security issues in the Middle East and North Africa with Macron, in addition to raising concerns over France’s digital services tax.
With Merkel, Trump plans to discuss trade, energy security and the need for European countries to meet the target NATO spending figure of 2 percent national economic output.
Trump is also expected to broach the topic of India-Pakistan relations in his meeting with Modi, in addition to counterterrorism efforts.
Administration officials offered a sketch of the summit schedule on Thursday. It will begin with an informal dinner of G-7 leaders to discuss foreign policy and security affairs Saturday evening, followed by a session on the global economy Sunday morning that was added at the last-minute request of the United States.
There will also be sessions on gender inequality and Africa partnership on Sunday, and on Monday sessions on climate, “digital transformation” and a closing session followed by a press conference.