UK's Burnham, Canada's Carney discuss AI challenges and online safety cooperation

(Corrects paragraph 4 to show Reeves is no longer UK finance minister)

Sept 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence and agreed on the importance of governments and the technology sector working together to address shared concerns and protect online safety, Downing Street said on Wednesday. 

The leaders also discussed deepening defence cooperation, including the complementary roles of the Multilateral Defence Mechanism and the Canada-led Defence Security Resilience Bank.

DSRB has faced challenges securing support from larger European nations. Britain and Germany had previously distanced themselves from the project.

However, in June then-UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said in the country's parliament that the government was now "working closely" with Canada on the DSRB. Reeves was replaced as finance minister by John Healey in July.

Both prime ministers emphasised the importance of building close ties with European partners, particularly on trade and defence. Canada, which is seeking to diversify its defence relationships beyond the United States, has formally applied to join the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force military coalition.

Earlier, the two leaders met in northern England, where they discussed opportunities for defence-industrial cooperation through the Global Combat Air Programme, an advanced fighter jet initiative that Canada joined as an observer in July 2026, according to Carney's office.

(Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Nia Williams)