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Prime Minister Keir Starmer to meet President Trump at White House

On the left side of the image, Keir Starmer stands at a lectern with his hand raised and appears to be mid sentence, there is a Union Jack flag behind him. On the right side of the image President Donald Trump stands at a different lectern at a different location and is pointing. There is a US flag behind him. Getty Images

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is travelling to the White House on Thursday to meet President Donald Trump.

Although they have met before, it is the first time the prime minister is meeting with Donald Trump since he won the 2024 US Presidential Election.

Mr Starmer is also the sixth leader to visit the White House since Donald Trump became President.

Newsround spoke to BBC North America correspondent Nomia Iqbal about why the meeting is so important and what they are likely to discuss.

What will they be discussing about Ukraine?

The question of what will happen with Ukraine is central to the talks.

It's been three years since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his army to invade neighbouring Ukraine.

Three years later the war is still going on.

President Donald Trump has been talking to Russia about how to end the war.

"He has said he wants Europe, including Ukraine, to do most of the work in helping to keep the peace," Nomia says.

Mr Trump met with Russian officials to discuss an end to the war without Ukraine present.

"Sir Keir Starmer has said Ukraine must have a voice in these negotiations and so he has to persuade President Trump of that," Nomia adds.

Nomia says Mr Starmer will also want to persuade Mr Trump to provide security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.

Nomia says "this doesn't just affect Ukraine's security but also the rest of Europe's".

What else will they discuss?

Container ships docked at the Port of Oakland in CaliforniaGetty Images

President Trump has raised tariffs on goods coming into the US from other countries

The prime minister has to also try to strengthen the trade relationship with the US.

Nomia says he will likely try to convince President Trump to pause any potential tariffs on the UK.

Donald Trump has previously said he will raise taxes, called tariffs on goods coming into the US to protect US jobs and industries.

He has raised tariffs for Canada, Mexico and China, though they were later lowered for Mexico and Canada after agreements were made between the US and those countries.