May hopes Trump visit will boost US-UK links

London, July 12  British Prime Minister Theresa May hopes that US President Donald Trump's visit to the UK on Thursday will be an opportunity to boost trade links and strengthen co-operation on security with Washington.

Trump, who will arrive here later in the day with First Lady Melania Trump for a two-day working visit, will spend time with the Queen and May, reports the BBC.

This is Trump's first visit to Britain since winning the 2016 presidential election.

"As two nations, we are safer, more prosperous and more creative when we work together and I am looking forward to this week's important discussions," May said in a statement late Wednesday.

She said that when the UK leaves the European Union (EU), "there will be no alliance more important in the years ahead".

May welcomed Trump's decision to "engage" with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital on July 16.

"Our long term objective remains a constructive relationship with Moscow. If we are to be successful in this we must keep engaging individually and as an alliance.

"That is why I welcome President Trump's forthcoming meeting with President Putin - open channels of communication between the US and Russia are key to managing the risks of confrontation," the BBC quoted May as saying.

The President and the First Lady will attend a dinner, hosted by May, at Blenheim Palace - the ancestral home of Winston Churchill - on Thursday evening.

Cabinet members, including Chancellor Philip Hammond and the new foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, as well as business leaders, will be among the guests.

On Friday, May and Trump will go to to watch a joint counter-terrorism exercise by British and US special forces at a military base.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are expected to protest against the President's visit across the UK.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has granted permission for a giant inflatable figure depicting Trump as a baby to fly over Westminster for two hours on the second day of the president's visit.