LONDON, 01 December 2021, (TON): The Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium.

The leaders signed and welcomed the new UK-Belgium Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation. The agreement, the first of its kind between our two countries, will enhance cooperation in crucial areas like trade, green technology, security, health and tackling illegal migration.

The Prime Minister welcomed the work that has already taken place between the UK and Belgium to keep supply chains open as we roll out vaccines to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The leaders discussed the recent emergence of the Omicron variant and the steps their countries have taken to limit its spread.

The Prime Minister also thanked Prime Minister De Croo for Belgium’s support and climate change commitments during the COP26 Summit earlier this month.

On illegal migration, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of breaking the business model of people traffickers by establishing a UK-EU returns agreement and using all the modern technology at our disposal.