British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is to visit Berlin on Thursday for his first face-to-face meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merzduring which the two leaders will launch a new UK-Germany joint security partnership.
The partnership aims to counter sabotage, cyberattacks and other hybrid threats by enhancing information-sharing and establishing coordinated monitoring, deterrence and disruption capabilities.
The initiative comes as Europe is faced by a multitude of hybrid security threats from various adversaries, especially Russia.
Ahead of the visit, Burnham said: “Attacks on our infrastructure, our businesses and our democracies are not a distant threat.”
“They reach into people’s homes and workplaces, and they are designed to make us weaker and more divided,” he continued.
“Britain and Germany are joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity.”
The two leaders are also to discuss support for Ukraine as it faces the ongoing Russian invasion, as well as the conflict in the Middle East and the economic disruption it has caused.
They will also convene a UK-Germany Regional Growth Forum.
The platform aims to bring together British and German chief executives in a bid to promote investment and strengthen industrial partnerships between the two countries.
Source: www.dw.com
