Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on Saturday vowed to deepen ties and drive towards a “green and sustainable recovery from COVID-19” in their first telephonic conversation since the US president’s inauguration, the British Prime Minister’s office said.

Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration and “the two leaders looked forward to deepening the close alliance between our nations”, the Downing Street said, AFP reported.

After the call, the prime minister tweeted: “Great to speak to President Joe Biden this evening. I look forward to deepening the longstanding alliance between our two countries as we drive a green and sustainable recovery from COVID-19.”

Earlier, Biden has been critical of Johnson’s Brexit policy, but the Downing Street statement said the leaders “discussed the benefits of a potential free trade deal between our two countries”.

Johnson said he intended to resolve current trade issues “as soon as possible”.

Biden, who has Irish roots, had warned ahead of his election that if Brexit damaged the 1998 Good Friday Agreement he would not consent to a trade deal. That agreement ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

The leaders also agreed on the “significant challenges facing the world during the pandemic”.

The United States has the largest number of cases and deaths in the world, while the UK has the highest number of deaths in Europe.

The leaders said the pandemic nevertheless created “unparalleled opportunities to build back better and greener together”.

Johnson also praised Biden for joining the Covax initiative, a global pool of coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer nations.

According to Guardian reports, a No 10 spokesperson said the prime minister hailed Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris agreement on climate change and the World Health Organization.

“The prime minister praised President Biden’s early action on tackling climate change and commitment to reach net-zero by 2050,” the spokesman said.

“Building on the UK and US’s long history of cooperation in security and defence, the leaders re-committed to the Nato alliance and our shared values in promoting human rights and protecting democracy.”

“They also discussed the benefits of a potential free trade deal between our two countries, and the prime minister reiterated his intention to resolve existing trade issues as soon as possible. The leaders looked forward to meeting in person as soon as the circumstances allow, and to working together through the G7, G20 and Cop26 this year.”

Reportedly, Johnson became the first European leader to have spoken to the new president after he had calls on Friday with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

After the call, there will be some relief in Downing Street given the perceived affinity between Johnson and former President Trump.

The prime minister is regarded with deep suspicion by some senior Democrats around Biden who – unlike the former president – was no fan of Brexit. In 2019, Biden described Johnson as a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump.

Many were offended by his sideswipe at the “part-Kenyan” Barack Obama during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.