President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown

The purpose of the meeting is for the two Leaders to meet in person; President of the U.S. and new UK Prime Minister. The first meeting will be a photo opportunity and a discussion upon a broad agenda of key common interests and values.

According to current polls, Gordon Brown, will become a caretaker Prime Minister until the next election, with David Cameron having the advantage. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown is not so popular among voters; Brown maybe lacking in Tony Blair flair; he is however respected, serious and formal.

AGENDA

President George Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Washington DC

Purpose of the Meeting

The purpose of the meeting is for the two Leaders to meet in person; President of the U.S. and new UK Prime Minister. The first meeting will be a photo opportunity and a discussion upon a broad agenda of key common interests and values.

Items for the Meeting

1. Reaffirmation of excellent and continuous bilateral close relations
2. The Global War on Terror
3. Foreign Policy, the situation in Iraq and the broader Middle East
4. Economic and Trade issues
5. Energy and dependence on foreign oil
6. Bilateral Relations. A review of ways to intensify cooperation in the pursuit of common goals.

Purpose of the Agenda

The purpose of the topics to be discussed during the meeting will allow the two leaders to exchange views and ideas about the various issues that are of concern to the two governments. They should commit themselves to common values and elaborate on what needs to be done next; or until their next meeting.

The order of the topics reflects both the variety of subjects, and also the common concern on global issues, such as the war on terror, the global economy, free trade, dependence on foreign oil, as well as issues of bilateral importance and cooperation.

Since the war in Iraq is now a subject that needs to be defended; and a strategy for the broader war on terror needs to be further defined, the two leaders will focus on this issue first, (most media attention will be focused on that), the state of the economy, and free trade initiatives, as well as development of a common environmental policy, which is a good subject, coming into the agenda, following the recent Bush trip to Latin America and the alternative fuel discussion. At the end, bilateral issues ought to be addressed, for Gordon Brown to have the opportunity to differentiate from Tony Blair.

Proposed Items Selected

The items are selected in order to give both leaders the opportunity to communicate on a set of subjects that are important in foreign policy as well as respective domestic issues.

The two men will have the opportunity to communicate on important issues concerning the future of U.S. and UK relations and set out clear strategy directions they want to follow.

Gordon Brown, in his first visit as UK Prime Minister, will talk with the President in setting his own tone in terms of his strategy on the war on terror and other foreign policy issues, while outlining his views about the state of the global economy and propose certain common initiatives.

Key US positions

• Stay the course in Iraq
• Common values on Security Issues
• Strong Trade Relations
• Investment on alternative energy sources

Likely UK positions

• Common strategy for Iran, UN cooperation
• Discovering new ways to better and more close work on bilateral issues concerning development of a common economic framework for the two nations
• Working together, in negotiating talks, to produce a successful round in the World Trade Organisation, in order to empower developing and least developed countries

Point of Flexibility and Inflexibility

The two nations can not deviate on security or foreign policy matters. The two leaders can have a constructive talk in setting targets on economic development, free trade growth, and environmental strategies in developing alternative oil solutions

Vasileios Gkinopoulos
vasileiosg@gmail.com