Why are the UK and US leaders meeting today?

The leaders will be having their very first face-to-face meeting today

British prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Joe Biden are set to meet in Cornwall today, where they will "pledge to work together to tackle the greatest challenges of our time".

It's ahead of the G7 summit, which will see world leaders come together this weekend (11-13 June) to discuss big issues affecting the world.

That includes plan to tackle climate change and protect the environment, and to work out how nations will recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be the prime minister and president's very first face-to-face meeting to set out a number of joint goals for the UK and America.

What will they discuss?

The president and his wife Jill arrived in the UK on Wednesday

They're expected to talk about lots of important topics like climate change and protecting biodiversity, global trade, defence and security, defending democracy, how the two nations can work more closely in the area of technology and when people will be able to safely travel between the countries.

The two leaders are also expected to talk about what's been going on as a result of Brexit, specifically when it comes to the rest of the UK's trade with Northern Ireland, in light of what's known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Northern Ireland shares a border with the Republic of Ireland, which is in the EU. The Northern Ireland Protocol was put in place to prevent a hard border between the countries and this effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.

However, it means some products that come into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK are subject to certain checks. This has been an discussed a lot this week because of disagreements between the EU and the UK about how the rules of the protocol should be applied.

'Atlantic Charter'

The leaders will be meeting in Cornwall ahead of the G7 summit

Boris Johnson has said he and president Biden will be agreeing on a "new Atlantic Charter", which is modelled on an agreement made by former British prime minister Winston Churchill and former American president Franklin D. Roosevelt following the end of the Second World War.

"The agreements President Biden and I will make today, rooted as they are in our shared values and outlook, will form the foundation of a sustainable global recovery," the prime minister said.

"Eighty years ago the US President and British Prime Minister stood together promising a better future. Today we do the same."

What else will President Biden be doing?

After the G7 summit, president Biden will be meeting the Queen at Windsor Castle.

It's the first time the current US leader will be meeting Her Majesty and it'll make Mr Biden the 13th American leader to meet the British monarch.