https://arab.news/jjgpw
Keir Starmer faces mounting domestic policy challenges at home, so it was no surprise the UK prime minister welcomed the opportunity of a visit to Tokyo and Beijing — a road trip that allowed him to focus on foreign policy.
Starmer’s first trip as UK premier to Japan and China was as important as it was timely. In Japan, he met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi whose Liberal Democratic Party is poised to make striking gains in an important snap election on Sunday that could be a gamechanger for the country’s politics.
In Tokyo, Starmer was told that bilateral relations are the “strongest in decades.” The two leaders agreed to strengthen collective security across the Atlantic and Asia-Pacific region, while boosting growth and economic resilience, including launching a new cybersecurity strategic partnership.
The two powers also agreed to build more diversified supply chains in critical minerals, and boost global trade by expanding the 12-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes not only the UK and Japan, but also Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
