What happens when world leaders meet?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is heading to the White House to meet up with President Donald Trump and there will be quite a lot to talk about.

World leaders often meet up with each other, sometimes at big conferences like the G20 summit or formal visits like this one at the White House.

These meetings often get a lot of attention with photos and speeches, but what happens behind the scenes and how important are they really?

James Landale is the BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent. That means he looks at diplomacy, which is the art of managing relationships between different countries.

He's been at hundreds of diplomatic meetings and prime ministerial trips all over the world so he's the perfect person to tell us everything we need to know about how meetings like this work, and why they're so important.

Read on to find out more.

What is diplomacy?

Keir Starmer welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to 10 Downing Street in October 2024

"Diplomacy is the name for the conversations that countries have with each other," says James.

"Each country is trying to convince the other to give them help with a problem. It might be a problem over a war, it might be a problem about the economy. But diplomacy is about persuading another country to help you – to support you."

"When leaders meet, because they're face to face, they can get a better sense of what each other thinks about something," James explains, "and that means they can work out what agreements are possible and where they're going to disagree".

"The meetings mean each side can work out what they're actually going to do. When they look at each other across the table, they can disagree, agree, work out what's possible and they can shape their policies".

And whether that help is supporting each other at an international summit, like the United Nations, or making an agreement about military support or trade, it's just the start of the conversation.

How are international agreements made?

French President Emmanuel Macron was the first European leader to meet with President Trump after his election win

It's not just world leaders who take part in diplomacy. James explains that diplomatic relationships are looked after every day by each country's representatives, called diplomats.

"Diplomats live in each other's country and they become experts in that country," says James.

After an agreement is made between leaders at a meeting, they leave their officials and diplomats to work out the details.

Sometimes this can work the other way around, particularly when an agreement is complicated and takes a long time.

"You can have international agreements that are the result of months of talks between diplomats who do the work of figuring out what is possible, and only then do they get their leaders involved".

What do world leaders talk about when they meet?

It turns out that meetings between world leaders can often be similar to when we meet new friends, or old ones who we've not seen for a while.

"When world leaders first meet," says James, "they tend to have a little bit of gossip and chat. If they're meeting for the first time they want some social chat to get to know each other. If they've been friends for some time they might want to catch up and ask how each other's families are."

But any initial chit-chat quickly turns to important matters.

"They will both have an agenda - a list - either on a piece of paper in front of them or in their head, and they will want to get through that agenda and make the points they want to make. Time is limited so they can't talk about everything so they have to choose the important things."

Sir Keir Starmer during a phone call with President Joe Biden in July 2024

And while world leaders do sometimes use video or phone calls to have conversations, James says that they often prefer to meet in person.

"It's easier to avoid confrontation face to face," he explains, "and it also means they can have private conversations that cannot be recorded by spies – because any kind of electronic communication is vulnerable to spies listening in."

How long do meetings last?

President Trump leans in to talk to former Prime Minister Theresa May during an international summit meeting.

"Sometimes about an hour – sometimes longer, if they have lots to talk about. Sometimes a meeting might be just half an hour of the leaders by themselves, then maybe more meetings with officials and diplomats".

James explains that sometimes leaders meet just to show the world that they're getting along, and that their countries are working together.

"There might be a joint visit for the TV cameras," says James, "and maybe a press conference. Then it can last several hours."

What happens when leaders strongly disagree?

"It's quite rare for people to walk out of meetings but it does happen sometimes," says James.

"If leaders strongly disagree, their meetings can end quickly – or they might not happen in the first place because they'll say there's no point in us meeting because we disagree."

"Most leaders will try to avoid that happening so they might bite their lip to avoid a public fight."

"Ultimately if leaders strongly disagree that can lead to severe consequences, from economic battles to war."

What's it like to attend a diplomatic meeting or event?

We asked James for the low-down on what it's like to be in the room with world leaders having these important conversations.

He explained that parts of his job can be boring, with lots of travel, lots of waiting around, and lots of long forms to fill out.

But while it can be tiring - "I once did a trip of five Asian countries in four days," - James says it's really exciting to be in the room.

"You have the front seat at the theatre, at the front of the show, right in the thick of it, seeing what's going on. To see the leaders in person, and read their body language, makes it all the more real."