US President Donald Trump is on an official state visit to the United Kingdom. The US president will arrive on Tuesday as London hopes to sign a multi-billion-dollar agreement.
The deal will likely cover investments in sectors relating to defense, tech, and most importantly, nuclear energy.
The meeting between Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to show that the transatlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East, and the future of the Western alliance.
Reports say the United Kingdom hopes to achieve multiple objectives with the upcoming nuclear cooperation deal.
Britain's hopes from the Trump visit
The first of the many objectives is to share safety assessments on new reactor designs that will be acceptable in both countries. The hope is to halve the time it takes to gain regulatory approval for nuclear projects from up to four years to two.
Faster and better nuclear plants mean Britain would accelerate towards its climate goals, which were expanded recently by Starmer's government. It has promised to eliminate all fossil fuels from UK electricity production by 2030. The country also plans to go carbon neutral by 2050. Reports say the new initiative can actually make the goal achievable.
In November 2024, the UK and 30 other countries signed a global pledge to triple their nuclear capacity by 2050.
The move also has a side benefit, which the United States may agree with. Britain said the partnership agrees to eliminate any last dependencies on Russian nuclear material by the end of 2028 -- further squeezing Russian leader Vladimir Putin out of the energy market. But Washington has made no such commitment.
The nuclear deal meanwhile comes as Britain refocuses on shoring up nuclear power since the start of the war in Ukraine, saying it is needed for energy security and facing a fleet of ageing power stations.
Several commercial deals were also announced Monday, including between US firm X-energy and British Gas owner Centrica to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, northeast England.
US firm Holtec, France's EDF and British firm Tritax are set to develop data centres powered by small modular reactors, which aim to cut the costs and complexity of building nuclear power stations.
Starmer’s office said the visit will demonstrate that “the UK-US relationship is the strongest in the world, built on 250 years of history” – after that awkward rupture in 1776 – and bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets.”
State visits are part 21st-century diplomacy, part royal pageantry. Trump’s two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle – all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor.
Trump will be hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle before talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.
Trump said Windsor Castle “is supposed to be amazing,” adding “It’s going to be very exciting.”
