US President Joe Biden has shared a picture of himself and Emmanuel Macron eating ice cream for dessert during the French President's state visit.
Mr Macron landed in Washington on Tuesday for a four-day trip designed to emphasise the strength of US-France relations.
A picture posted on Mr Biden’s Twitter account late on Wednesday showed Mr Biden sitting next to Mr Macron while the pair tucked into bowls of ice cream at Italian seafood restaurant Fiola Mare in Washington.
The leaders’ wives, Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron, sat across from them, without any ice cream.
The image was accompanied by the message: “Welcoming some friends to town.”
Mr Macron is the first foreign leader to be hosted by Mr Biden.
He will be welcomed on Thursday at the White House with a 21-gun salute and military honours.
Mr Macron and his wife were scheduled to have a private dinner with Mr Biden and his wife, as well as a state dinner at the White House.
Hundreds of guests are to be welcomed in a pavilion set up on the South Lawn for the centrepiece event of the first state visit hosted by Mr Biden since he took office in early 2021.
The menu, released to the media ahead of the dinner, will include butter-poached Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and an American cheese trio.
Dessert will be orange chiffon cake, roasted pears and creme fraiche ice cream.
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US President Joe Biden will host a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron. AP -
Dessert will be orange chiffon cake, roasted pears and creme fraiche ice cream. AFP -
Butter-poached Maine lobster, American Osetra caviar, delicata squash raviolo and tarragon sauce will also be on offer. AFP -
Calotte of beef, shallot marmalade, butter potatoes, sunchoke and creamed watercress and red wine reduction is another option. AFP -
Guests can also enjoy American artisanal cheeses. AFP -
The event will take place in the State Dining Room of the White House. AP -
Mr Macron landed in Washington on Tuesday for a four-day trip. AFP
A state dinner is a high diplomatic honour that the US reserves for its closest allies.
“The design of this dinner was inspired by the shared colours of our flags, red white and blue, and our common values, liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship,” Mr Biden said. “These form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built.”
At the White House, Mr Macron is expected to confront Mr Biden over new US subsidies riling European leaders, Reuters reported. The two leaders could disagree over the war in Ukraine and China policy.
Mr Macron was also the first foreign leader invited for a formal state visit by former president Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden and President Emmanuel Macron - in pictures
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US President Joe Biden, left, and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK on June 11, 2021. All photos by AFP -
Mr Macron, left, greets Mr Biden in Cornwall on June 12, 2021 -
Mr Biden, left, and Mr Macron attend a plenary session during the G7 summit on June 13, 2021 -
Mr Macron, left, talks to Mr Biden at the Nato headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021 -
Mr Macron, right, and Mr Biden meet at the French Embassy to the Vatican in Rome on October 29, 2021 -
Mr Biden, left, shakes hands with Mr Macron, right, with President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the G20 summit in Rome on October 30, 2021 -
U.S. President Joe Biden (L) talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as they arrive to attend a North Atlantic Council meeting during a NATO summit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022 -
Mr Biden, left, and Mr Macron at the G7 leaders summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on June 26 -
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, Mr Biden, right, and Mr Macron at the Royal Palace in Madrid on June 28 -
Mr Biden shakes hands with Mr Macron as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz looks on in Nusa Dua, Bali on November 15 -
Mr Biden, left, chats with Mr Macron at the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali on November 16
