On his inaugural visit to Berlin, UK Defence Secretary John Healey signed a joint defence declaration with German counterpart Boris Pistorius that was hailed as the first of its kind between the NATO allies.

It includes pledges to strengthen the defence industries in both countries, cooperate more closely on the development and procurement of weapons, and coordinate “even better” on support for Ukraine, Pistorius said.

The pact would “strengthen the European pillar within NATO and thus NATO as a whole”, Pistorius told a joint press conference.

Healey, welcomed to the German capital with military honours, said the deeper cooperation in the defence sector would boost both nations’ security as well as “our national economies”.

The pact comes as Britain’s new Labour government, after a landslide election win earlier this month, is “determined to reset relations with Europe”, Healey said.

“Britain’s essential relationships with many European allies has been strained at best” in recent years, he said, in a nod to ties soured by Brexit.

The bilateral defence declaration “signals the start of a developing and deepening relationship between our two countries” which “have an important contribution to make to the collective security of Europe”, Healey added.

Healey’s trip to Berlin was part of a lightning tour of Europe this week that has already seen him visit France and will take him to Poland and Estonia next.

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