French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak discussed the issue of clandestine migration across the English Channel in their first telephone conversation since Sunak took office, the British government said.
The two leaders also agreed to meet in person next year, France’s Elysee said.
Macron congratulated Sunak on his appointment as prime minister, the Elysee said.
The French president viewed the war in Ukraine and the fight against climate change as common challenges and was ready to deepen the ties between the two countries, it said.
Relations between France and Britain came under stress in recent years and the countries often traded blame for an array of problems, including post-Brexit fishing disputes and failing to resolve the problem of clandestine migration across the English Channel.
“The Prime Minister stressed the importance for both nations to make the Channel route completely unviable for people traffickers”, a Downing Street spokesperson said after the call.
Migration policy was not mentioned in the readout from Macron’s office.
The two leaders also discussed the European energy crisis, both offices said.