British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Chequers on Thursday.

The two leaders held talks on foreign policy and the economy, and also discussed topics such as climate change and the Middle East peace process.

Iran was also on the agenda, with Brown and Chancellor Merkel both supporting the idea of international sanctions against the country.

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister and Chancellor Merkel had an excellent discussion at Chequers which focused on foreign policy and the world economic situation. One year on from the London G20, they discussed the steps necessary to ensure another successful G20 summit in June.

"They also had a long discussion on climate change in advance of the Bonn meeting, and talked about the latest developments in the Middle East peace process. On Iran, there was strong support from both leaders for sanctions, and agreement on the continued need to engage with international partners on the issue," the spokesman said.

During the visit, Merkel was awarded the King Charles II medal by the Royal Society, Britain's academy of sciences.