French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the US’ Kamala Harris on February 15 to discuss topics including the pandemic and climate change, in a rare phone call between a US vice-president and a foreign leader.

Harris’ office released a statement saying she had expressed her commitment “to revitalising the transatlantic alliance”.

The statement said: “Vice-President Harris and President Macron agreed on the need for close bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address Covid-19, climate change and support democracy at home and around the world.

“They also discussed numerous regional challenges, including those in the Middle East and Africa, and the need to confront them together.

“The vice-president thanked President Macron for his leadership on the issue of gender equality and for France’s contribution to NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.”

The rover is due on February 18 to land on Mars in a pioneering search for signs of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

The French government confirmed the phone call and its contents as detailed by the US statement.

Macron spoke with US President Joe Biden in a phone call on January 24 and reportedly suggested that they broker a settlement on the long-running trade dispute between aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.