New British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin on Saturday, a day after he assumed office following the British elections.
Baerbock called the United Kingdom "an indispensable part of Europe." "Whether in science, culture or security (...) we work closely together," the top German diplomat said in a post on X.
"Together with the new British government, we are examining how the UK can move closer to the #EU again," Baerbock added.
Lammy had already ruled out a British return to the EU or the customs union before taking office.
Following Labour's spectacular election victory, Lammy was appointed as the country's new Foreign Secretary on Friday.
Labour replaced the Conservative Party, which had been in government for 14 years.
Lammy had indicated that he hoped to visit several key allies very soon if his party won the election, including Germany.
The Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to conclude a broad security pact with the EU. It aims to also cover areas such as energy and climate as well as closer cooperation in the defence industry.
On the occasion of Lammy's visit, the Foreign Office in Berlin also said that coming shortly before the NATO summit starting on Tuesday in Washington, the meeting was also about "how we can organize our support for #Ukraine even more effectively together with our allies."