New Delhi:

 U.S. President Joe Biden will hold his first face-to-face talks with Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Wednesday, the White House said on Monday.

Biden also will host an event on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the NATO summit, which is taking place this week in Washington, national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Biden plans to “underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom” in his meeting with Starmer, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

She said the two leaders would have the opportunity to discuss U.S.-UK cooperation across a range of issues from Ukraine to the Israel-Gaza war, and ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, as well as confronting Iranian-backed Houthi threats to commercial shipping.

The leaders also will discuss furthering cooperation in areas such as protecting advanced technologies and developing climate and clean energy solutions.

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