LONDON: The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris met with the United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday and discussed the support for Israel’s right to defend itself as well as the urgent need to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The two leaders also discussed “working together” on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and continued support for Ukraine.
“Today, I met with Prime Minister @RishiSunak and discussed our support for Israel’s right to defend itself and the urgent need to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Together we are committed to helping civilians in need,” Harris posted on X.
“PM Sunak and I reaffirmed the importance of our strong and enduring partnership. We also discussed our continued support to the people of Ukraine and our work together on AI — including how our new AI Safety Institutes will collaborate with each other,” she added.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has often said the UK supports Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law and to fight against Hamas after the terror group launched an attack on Tel Aviv on October 7.
“I want to share the deep condolences of the British people and stress that we absolutely support Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law, to go after Hamas…We also recognise that the Palestinian people are victims of Hamas too,” the British PM said while delivering a joint statement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu post their private meeting at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem last week.
Sunak said he was “sorry” to visit Israel in “such terrible circumstances”. He said: “In the last two weeks, this country has gone through something that no country, no people should have to endure, least of all Israel…” He further said he welcomes Israel’s decision to ensure that routes into Gaza will be opened for humanitarian aid to enter.
“I am glad that you made that decision. We will support it…We also want you to win,” Sunak had said.
Upon his arrival, he said: “I am in Israel, a nation in grief. I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today, and always.”
The British PM met families that had their loved ones taken away from them as a result of the war.
Tech billionaire and CEO of X Elon Musk was among those who were seen at the two-day summit led by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that began yesterday at the historic Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire.
According to the UK government, the summit’s objectives are for participants to “work towards a shared understanding of risks” posed by AI and organise a global effort to mitigate them.
The summit underway in UK will see a convergence of governments, academia and companies working in artificial intelligence to debate and identify risks, opportunities and the “need for international collaboration, before highlighting consensus on the scale, importance and urgency for AI opportunities” a statement by the British High Commission read.
Prime Minister Sunak had last week stated that the summit will focus on understanding the risks such as potential threats to national security including the dangers a loss of control the technology could bring.
On the agenda are discussions around issues likely to impact society, such as election disruption and erosion of social trust.
According to government estimates, the UK already employs over 50,000 people in the AI sector and contributes 3.7 billion pounds to its economy annually. (ANI)