The Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee’s programme started in California, where its members took part in a series of company visits, including to Open AI, Nvidia, Palantir and Planet Labs.

One of the main aims of the committee’s visit is to gain insight into the driving forces that are shaping investment in the high tech industry, and the role technology companies play in modern defence technology and innovation. The committee has also had meetings at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

The second leg of the trip sees the committee heading to Washington D.C. for political discussions in the United States Congress. Here they will meet representatives from both the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as leading analysts in a number of American think tanks. Among the items on the agenda will be transatlantic cooperation, and various other current foreign policy questions.