Prior to the Queen’s funeral, Liz Truss to meet with world leaders

• Liz Truss will meet a number of world leaders this weekend ahead of the Queen’s funeral.
• She will hold informal talks with US President Joe Biden, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Ireland’s Micheál Martin.
• Ms Truss met Mr Biden as Foreign Secretary, but this weekend’s meeting will be her first as UK Prime Minister.

Liz Truss will meet with a number of world leaders, including President Joe Biden, ahead of the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

On Sunday, the prime minister will hold informal talks with the president of the United States, as well as the leaders of Canada, Poland, and Ireland.

On Saturday, she will meet with her counterparts from Australia and New Zealand.

The funeral on Monday will be one of the most important diplomatic events in recent years, with 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries expected to attend.

It will allow Ms Truss to meet with foreign counterparts less than two weeks after taking office.

Downing Street also stated that additional meetings for the weekend could be scheduled later on Friday.

Ms Truss met Mr Biden as Foreign Secretary, but this weekend’s meeting will be her first as UK Prime Minister.

No. 10 announced that the meeting would take place on Sunday in Downing Street, alongside meetings with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Ms Truss will also meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Chevening, the foreign secretary’s official country retreat in Kent, on Saturday.

Ms Truss will also attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, where she will meet with more world leaders.

Because of the official 10-day mourning period, Downing Street said the talks this weekend would not be formal bilateral meetings, and there would be no media access.

The media will not receive summaries of the discussions, as is customary following the PM’s meetings with foreign leaders, according to No 10.

The meeting with Mr Martin comes at a time when relations with the EU are strained due to post-Brexit checks in Northern Ireland.

The UK is refusing to implement some of the checks stipulated in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, prompting the EU to file a series of lawsuits.

Mr Martin has expressed concern about legislation introduced by Ms Truss as Foreign Secretary that allows the UK to change the legal commitments it made in the Brexit treaty in 2019.

Ms Truss is scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York next week.

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