LONDON: US President Donald Trump arrived in Britain late on Tuesday (Sep 16) for an unprecedented second state visit at which the two nations will seal investment deals, a renewal of a “special relationship” Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen to champion.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and British finance minister Rachel Reeves led events before Trump’s arrival, announcing a “Transatlantic taskforce” to deepen work between two of the world’s largest financial centres.
Trump will then be greeted by King Charles on Wednesday, for a day of pomp at Windsor Castle, a regal show of soft power that Starmer hopes will offer him protection from possible pitfalls during the trip.
POMP-LADEN VISIT A DIVERSION FOR BOTH LEADERS
The visit should provide Trump with a diversion less than a week after a close ally, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was shot dead, a killing that has appeared to affect the president deeply.
Starmer is also looking to turn the focus onto geopolitics and investment after enduring a tough couple of weeks that have undermined his authority. First he was forced to fire his deputy and then six days later his ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer wants to pitch Britain as a destination for US investment, closely aligning its financial services, tech and energy sectors with larger US peers to try to drive much-needed economic growth at home.
To that end, business executives including Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are due to attend, while billions of dollars of business deals are expected to be announced.
Microsoft said it would invest over US$30 billion in Britain over the next four years, while Google said it would invest £5 billion (US$6.8 billion), partly on a new data centre close to London that would help meet demand for AI services.
A spokesperson for Starmer described the state visit as “a historic opportunity” coming “at a crucial time for global stability and security”.
