The United States and United Kingdom: Reaffirming Our Alliance

Office of the Spokesperson

“A key way we will deliver for the American people is by reaffirming and revitalizing our alliances and partnerships around the world.” 

 – Secretary Antony J. Blinken, March 24, 2021

Secretary Blinken is attending the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting in London, United Kingdom, May 3-5, 2021.  During his visit he will also meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss shared U.S.-UK priorities related to leading global issues and reaffirm the strong alliance between our countries.

The United States and United Kingdom: A Historical Alliance

• The United States has no closer Ally than the United Kingdom. Our exceptional partnership, born of common values and a shared language and history, is renewed through daily cooperation on a range of joint security, economic, and other global issues.

• Our close economic ties bring prosperity to both nations. The United Kingdom is the leading consumer in the world of U.S. services and the fifth largest destination for U.S. export goods.  The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment into the UK.  Two-way direct investment stock totals more than $1.3 trillion.

• The United States and United Kingdom work together through a host of multilateral institutions, including as founding members of NATO and OSCE, as permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), and as members of the G7 to advance democratic values and rule of law throughout the world.

Rebuilding from COVID-19

• The United States will work with the United Kingdom to build back better together from the impact of the global pandemic including through cooperation to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to future infectious disease threats, secure our global supply chains, and restart travel and tourism as soon as it is safe to do so.

• As the largest single donor to Gavi in support of COVAX, the United States is committed to significantly accelerating the pace and ambition of global vaccination efforts. We welcome the United Kingdom’s substantial contributions to COVAX and the broader Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.  We will work with the UK to advance global health security.

Climate Leaders

• The United States and the United Kingdom are leaders in the global fight against climate change.

• We are grateful to the UK for hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.  The President’s recent Leaders Summit on Climate was an important step in increasing international climate ambition in the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow.  Throughout this year and beyond, we will continue to work closely with the UK to secure international commitments to address the climate crisis.

• We appreciate the UK’s leadership of the G7 and partnership in tackling the climate crisis to reach our shared goals of achieving global net-zero emissions no later than 2050 and keeping the target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.

Support for Security and Democratic Values

• Respect for democratic values, open societies, and universal human rights lies at the heart of the U.S.-UK alliance. We work together throughout the world to advance peace, security, and the rule of law.

• The UK is our steadfast Ally in NATO and a leading partner in the Coalition to Defeat ISIS and in countering malign and destabilizing actors. Our alliance was further strengthened by the UK’s recent in-depth review of defense, development, and foreign policy, which closely aligns with our interests.

• The UK-led Carrier Strike Group joint naval deployment this year with U.S. and UK Sailors and Marines serving together aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will showcase our interoperability and demonstrate our shared commitment to regional peace and security.

• Together with the UK, we proactively harness our cyber and space capabilities to protect critical national infrastructure and the day-to-day lives of our citizens.

• We will partner with the United Kingdom to continue to take firm action and to impose costs on the PRC and Russia when they fail to live up to their international human rights commitments.

• We commend the United Kingdom on the establishment of a Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regime, which reinforces the U.S.-UK partnership in the fight against corruption and illicit finance. It complements ongoing U.S. initiatives, enhancing our ability to cooperate and coordinate on comparable human rights and corruption sanctions programs, such as the U.S. Global Magnitsky sanctions program.

Advancing People to People Ties

• The U.S.-UK partnership is constantly renewed and strengthened through numerous educational, cultural, and professional exchange and development opportunities.

• The Fulbright Program in the United Kingdom is one of the oldest and largest in the world.  Over the last 73 years, more than 27,000 scholars, students, and teachers have benefited from Fulbright exchanges between the United States and the United Kingdom.

• The United Kingdom is the top study abroad destination for American students each year. Nearly 11,000 students from the UK studied in the United States in the 2019-2020 academic year.