UK PM Sunak makes first official visit to Germany

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Berlin, April 24 - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit Berlin for the first time on Wednesday, 18 months after taking office.

His meeting with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz will focus on military aid for Ukraine and the war in Gaza. The controversial British asylum pact with Rwanda, which was approved by the British parliament on Tuesday, is also likely to be discussed.

Although Britain has not been a member of the European Union for more than four years, it is still one of Germany's most important allies in NATO, the G7 and the G20. Alongside Germany, the country is Ukraine's most important European arms supplier and has just pledged a large amount of new military aid.

In the Middle East, the British air force was recently involved in the defence against the major Iranian attack on Israel, unlike Germany.

The British asylum pact has also attracted a great deal of attention and criticism in Germany. Asylum seekers who arrive in the UK without valid papers could be deported immediately to the East African country in future and apply for asylum there.

There are also calls from the opposition in Germany to transfer asylum procedures to countries outside the EU.

--IANS/DPA