U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is joining French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony Thursday in Paris to commemorate Armistice Day.
The ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe marks the 1918 agreement between Allied powers and Germany to end their fighting in World War I.
It follows a Wednesday visit by Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, to Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial outside of Paris where they took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in observance of Armistice Day and Thursday’s Veterans Day holiday in the United States. The site honors American service members killed in both world wars and holds the remains of nearly 1,600 Americans.
Harris is visiting France as part of an effort to improve soured relations between the two longtime allies. Both she and Macron described the opportunities for cooperation and the start of a “new era” as they spoke to reporters before meeting Wednesday at Elysee Palace.
“I look forward to the next few days where we'll continue to work together and renew the focus that we've always had on our partnership and the benefit to the people of France and the people of the United States and the people of the world,” Harris said.
Symone Sanders, senior and adviser and chief spokesperson for Harris, said in a statement that Macron and Harris discussed cooperation on transatlantic security, space exploration and preparing for future pandemics.
Harris is set to speak Thursday at the Paris Peace Forum and represent the United States at a summit Friday on Libya ahead of that country’s elections next month.
Relations between the France and the United States plunged to a historic low in September when Australia scrapped a $65 billion deal to buy traditional submarines from France in favor of an agreement in which Australia will build nuclear subs with the help of the United States and Britain.
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