The summit will bring together world leaders from the 20 biggest economies, with Downing Street saying the visit will be used to engage with allies to strengthen support for Ukraine.
Sir Keir joined French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where they discussed a US-backed peace plan.
US President Donald Trump will not be in attendance over widely discredited claims that white people are being persecuted in the country.
The prime minister, whose critics have labelled “never here Keir” because of the frequency of his trips overseas, has emphasised the benefits of a prime minister acting as an ambassador for UK businesses abroad.
With that in mind, here are all the other trips the prime minister has taken this year.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrive to lay wreaths at The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine on January 16, 2025
via REUTERS
In an attempt to strengthen support for Kyiv, Sir Keir made his first trip to the war-torn nation and inked a century-long alliance with Ukraine back in January.
As he reaffirmed European solidarity against Russian aggression, Sir Keir said the 100-year agreement was the foundation of Britain’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine.
The prime minister took an overnight train from the Polish border to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir met patients and workers at a burns hospital, and the two placed a wreath on the wall honouring fallen soldiers.
Sir Keir said: “Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure. Instead, we are closer than ever and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.
“The power of our long-term friendships cannot be underestimated. Supporting Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s barbaric invasion and rebuild a prosperous, sovereign future, is vital to the government’s security and Plan for Change.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria visited Auschwitz in January
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During a visit to Poland to meet with its political leaders, the prime minister lay a wreath at the former Nazi concentration camp in advance of the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
After he and his wife Victoria, who is Jewish, visited the site, Sir Keir said in a statement: “Nothing could prepare me for the sheer horror of what I have seen in this place. It is utterly harrowing. The mounds of hair, the shoes, the suitcases, the names and details, everything that was so meticulously kept, except for human life.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
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Sir Keir went to Brussels to join a gathering of European Union leaders – the first time a British prime minister has done so since Brexit.
The prime minister headed over the English Channel for talks focused on defence and security co-operation and also met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte whilst there.
The trip was also part of what he called a “reset” between the UK and the European Union.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer before an informal summit of European leaders.
AFP via Getty Images
Sir Keir went to Paris for emergency talks with fellow leaders on Ukraine after he warned of a “generational challenge” and said the UK and Europe “need to do more” on security.
He has stated that if an agreement to stop the war with Russia could be reached, he would be willing to send a peacekeeping force into Ukraine.
The conference took place amid concerns that the US may scale back its security commitments in the continent and as European leaders were frantically trying to come up with a plan in response to US President Donald Trump’s desire for an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
First visit to Washington to meet Trump
AFP via Getty Images
Sir Keir met US President Donald Trump during his first visit to the White House.
The visit had so many interesting elements.
The opening included the prime minister reaching inside his jacket pocket and pulling out an official letter from King Charles III – an invitation for a second state visit.
Trump appeared to be genuinely taken back for a few seconds, asking: “Am I supposed to read it right now?” and after taking a minute to read the letter, Trump said he accepted the invitation.
Sir Keir also couldn’t help but clash with US Vice President JD Vance over free speech.
A week earlier, US Vice President JD Vance had criticised the UK and other European democracies at the Munich Security Conference, saying that “free speech is in retreat.”
Trump urged his deputy to defend himself when he was questioned about the remarks. Mr Vance maintained that “there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British” but moreover “American technology companies and by extension, American citizens”.
Sir Keir interrupted and said: “We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom – and it will last for a very, very long time.”
He rejected Vance’s claim, saying “in relation to free speech in the UK, I’m very proud of our history there”.
Sir Keir visited Paris again in March to rebuild trust and coordination between the UK and EU following years of tense Brexit fallout. Discussions reportedly included security, trade, energy, and migration cooperation.
Talks with President Emmanuel Macron focused on bilateral defence cooperation, especially in light of the war in Ukraine and increasing European calls for strategic autonomy. Follow-up to the UK-Poland defence pact and the Ukraine summit hosted in London earlier that month.
Although not an EU member, Sir Keir is a proponent of closer strategic alignment. His Paris visit likely included talks around broader European Political Community (EPC) initiatives, where the UK now has observer or contributor status.
AP
Sir Keir Starmer attended Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome in April.
There was a large delegation of world leaders in attendance, including Prince William, Donald Trump, and Emmanuel Macron.
Starmer was accompanied by his wife Victoria and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as they paid their respects at the Pope’s coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica before the open-air service.
In May, Sir Keir visited Oslo, meeting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre onboard a Norwegian coastguard vessel.
As part of a Joint Expeditionary Force summit, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing steadfast support to Ukraine and welcomed ongoing efforts to deliver a secure and lasting peace.
The leaders also discussed joint efforts between the UK and Norway to protect critical subsea infrastructure to safeguard economic security, and discussed the signing of the Green Industrial Partnership by UK and Norwegian energy ministers.
Straight from Oslo, Sir Keir was one of around 30 global leaders reasserting their call for Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
The Prime Minister joined French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the meeting, which was hosted by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky.
Other members of the “coalition of the willing” participated remotely, including Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian PM Mark Carney, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato.
The leaders assembled in Kyiv warned that “new and massive” sanctions would be imposed on Russia’s energy and banking sectors if Putin did not agree to the unconditional 30-day ceasefire “in the air, at sea and on land”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is understood to have had a breakthrough in his bid to secure a new deal with the European Union ahead of a major summit with the bloc (Leon Neal/PA)
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Sir Keir Starmer had a two day visit to Tirana in May, in a trip to step up cooperation on migration and expand joint initiatives with Albania to more countries in the region.
It came after the Prime Minister unveiled the government’s Immigration White Paper, a plan to bring net migration to the UK down significantly.
During the first ever official visit to Albania by a UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir visited the Port of Durres to see how UK cooperation is intercepting people smugglers, deterring would-be migrants and snaring criminals using fake documents.
Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney and Sir Keir Starmer (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)
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In June, Sir Kei flew to Ottawa to meet Mark Carney, the recently elected Canadian prime minister.
Ahead of the G7 summit, hosted by Carney, the talks between the two prime ministers on Saturday focussed on security and trade.
Following the meeting with Carney, Sir Keir attended the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Sir Keir was among world leaders in The Hague for a gathering of the military alliance, having called on nations in the Middle East nations to keep the fighting on hold.
Sir Keir discussed the “volatile situation” in the Middle East with his French and German counterparts, with the trio agreeing “now was the time for diplomacy and for Iran to come to the negotiating table”, Downing Street said.
In July, Sir Keir jetted off to Switzerland to watch the Women’s Euro 2025 final, which saw England emerge victorious with a penalty shoot-out win over Spain.
The conference followed the US president’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where the Russian leader reportedly requested that Ukraine give up the Donetsk and Luhansk areas in exchange for the war’s end.
The initiative reportedly received private support from Mr Trump, a move Kyiv has fiercely opposed.
The night before the high-level meeting in the White House, Mr Trump implied that Ukraine could not reclaim Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and placed the burden of concessions on Mr Zelensky.
Russia’s refusal to stop fighting before accepting a deal would make any effort to achieve enduring peace more difficult, Ukraine’s leader warned.
Mr Zelensky stated in a statement prior to his journey that “stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war.”
Sir Keir and other leaders “stand ready to support this next phase of talks,” according to Downing Street, and emphasised that they will continue to help Ukraine “as long as it takes.”
Russia’s demand that Ukraine give up Donetsk and Luhansk was one of the territorial issues discussed during the negotiations.
They also discussed Ukraine’s security assurances, which may be supported by US air power.
Sir Keir met with Danish business leaders at the British ambassador’s residence in Denmark in early October, before attending the 7th European Political Community Summit the following day.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer raised the Briton’s case in talks with Indian leader Narendra Modi on Thursday (Leon Neal/PA)
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Sir Keir led the UK’s largest ever trade mission to India in October.
The trip was to boost trade, technology, and defence ties, and followed Indian Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Britain during which the two signed a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
Starmer and Modi held a meeting in which the two discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India’s reliance on fossil fuels, and India’s purchase of Russian oil,
Sir Keir reiterated the UK’s support for India’s bid for permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
Later in October, Sir Keir attended the 2025 Gaza peace summit which included key nations agreeing to US President Trump’s Gaza peace plan to end the Gaza war.
Sir Keir claimed the event led to a “historic day” while pledging that the UK would lead rebuilding efforts and announcing a £20m humanitarian package for Gaza.
Sir Keir met with Turkish President Erdogan in late October, where the two agreed that the UK would sell 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Turkey in a deal worth up to £8 billion.
(l to r) Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the Prince of Wales at the Cop30 summit in Belem (Mauro Pimentel/AP)
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Sir Keir attended COP30 in Rio de Janeiro in November, where he acknowledged the waning political support on climate change.
He said it had been a unity issue internationally and in the UK, but “today sadly that consensus is gone”.
Marking 200 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the UK, Starmer held a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Lula, where they discussed multilateralism and international collaboration on climate change, joint efforts on clean energy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
