Britain and Canada have moved to strengthen their strategic partnership, with the two countries pledging closer cooperation in trade, defence and artificial intelligence.
The commitment followed talks between British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Liverpool on Wednesday.
The meeting focused on expanding economic ties between the two countries and strengthening cooperation on security and emerging technologies.
Defence featured prominently in the discussions, with Canada formally applying to join the United Kingdom-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a multinational defence partnership involving several European countries.
Burnham and Carney also discussed opportunities for deeper cooperation in the defence industry, including Canada’s involvement in the Global Combat Air Programme, known as GCAP.
The programme is a major international effort involving the UK, Italy and Japan to develop a next-generation combat aircraft.
The leaders also considered other mechanisms for strengthening defence and security cooperation, including the Multilateral Defence Mechanism and Canada’s Defence Security Resilience Bank.
On trade and the wider economy, the two governments said they wanted to build on their existing relationship and develop closer economic links with European partners.
Artificial intelligence was another major issue during the meeting.
The two leaders discussed cooperation on frontier technologies and the need to promote the safe and responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.
They also highlighted cooperation between governments and technology companies in tackling shared challenges, including online safety.
The talks come as both countries seek to expand cooperation in areas regarded as strategically important, while maintaining their longstanding political, economic and security relationship.
Carney’s visit also included a more informal engagement in Liverpool. He and Burnham attended Everton’s League Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The meeting underlined the breadth of the UK-Canada relationship, with both sides signalling an interest in closer collaboration on economic growth, defence and rapidly developing technologies such as AI.
The two governments are expected to continue discussions as they pursue the areas of cooperation identified by the leaders.
