Prime Minister's meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry
The Prime Minister and US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed our shared priority of securing an EU-US trade deal and how the UK and US could work together to build support for a deal.
Prime Minister David Cameron has met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Downing Street.
A Number 10 spokesperson said:
This morning the Prime Minister met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on his first visit overseas since his appointment.
They discussed our shared priority of securing an EU-US trade deal and how the UK and US could work together to build support for a deal on both sides of the Atlantic. The G8 Summit in Lough Erne in June will be an important moment to inject further momentum into this, as well as take forward our other G8 priorities, specifically tax avoidance and transparency.
On foreign affairs, the Prime Minister and Secretary Kerry discussed the challenges posed by fragile states around the world, and ways to work together to tackle this.
They discussed the response to the historic changes in the Arab world, particularly the importance of strengthening the Syrian opposition - led by the Syrian National Coalition - and forcing a political situation to the crisis. This is an issue that both the Foreign Secretary and the US Secretary will be discussing further with international partners at the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome on Thursday. And they discussed how the international community could help to strengthen democracy in the region in the wake of the Arab Spring, especially in Libya and Egypt.
They agreed on the importance of moving the Middle East Peace Process forward.
On Iran, they reiterated a shared determination to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and agreed that the best means of finding a peaceful solution to the issue is by maintaining pressure on the regime through sanctions, while pursuing the diplomatic track. They hoped further progress could be made at this week’s P5+1 talks in Almaty.