LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)-After the royal hospitality and pageantry, US President Donald Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK takes a serious turn on Thursday when he is hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for wide-ranging talks.

Starmer will greet Trump on the second day of the visit at his country residence, Chequers, with pressing issues such as trade, Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda.

The prime minister has positioned himself as a bridge between the unpredictable US leader and European allies, particularly on the war in Ukraine, in a bid to secure more commitments for Kyiv from Trump.

Starmer’s warm tone with Trump — in stark contrast to his words while in opposition — has won some leniency in the president’s trade war, with the two countries signing an “economic prosperity deal” at the White House in May.

Britain hopes to secure further concessions, and is keen to see 25-percent duties on aluminium and steel reduced to zero, but Trump’s non-committal comments suggest an agreement is not imminent.

“They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal. So, we’ll talk to them,” Trump said before leaving for Britain.

However, Starmer received a boost when US private equity giant Blackstone said it planned to invest £90 billion ($123 billion) on UK projects over the next decade, after Microsoft unveiled a plan to spend $30 billion in the country.

In the other direction, British pharmaceutical group GSK announced that it will invest $30 billion in the United States over the next five years.