Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Welcome to the State
Department. We are thrilled and so pleased to host this luncheon for our
very special guests, Prime Minister and Mrs. Cameron. It is wonderful
to see all of you celebrating spring with us and knowing that our
relationship, it’s always spring. It’s always being renewed, it is
always durable, it is a cornerstone of both of our nations’ foreign
policies, and it has such a great resonance between our two peoples.
Now I want to recognize our chef today. A native of Birmingham,
England – not Alabama – (laughter) – who made herself a home in New York
City as the executive chef of a couple of very hip restaurants. One,
The Spotted Pig, the other The Breslin. So it’s really a delight to have
April Bloomfield with us. She was just talking with the Prime Minister –
(applause) – it was a very timely introduction because when the Prime
Minister and President Obama exchanged gifts, President Obama gave the
Prime Minister a barbeque. I mean a real, down-home American barbeque
with a smoking compartment and everything else. So April stands ready to
help, Prime Minister.
We joke about the special relationship, but that’s because we’re so
comfortable with it. It means such a great deal to us. It is not just
because of a wide range of shared interests, but our deeply rooted
history and the unbreakable friendship between our countries. Now, of
course the President did remind the Prime Minister at the White House
ceremony this morning that we are at the 200
th anniversary of the War of 1812. (Laughter.)
And I was pleased to tell my counterpart and friend, the Foreign
Secretary, and also the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that it was my
predecessor in one of my other lives, Dolly Madison, who actually saved
the extraordinary portraits of George and Martha Washington. Having
received word from her husband, who was truly been a commander-in-chief
in the field, that unfortunately the British truly were coming. And –
(laughter) – so she rushed from the White House, taking some treasures
with her, leaving behind the meal that she had prepared for her husband
and his officers. And the British officers ate the meal before they
burned the White House. So – (laughter) – we are looking forward, but
nevertheless, there are certain memories that are also of significance.
And how wonderful it is, here we are today and working together in so
many important parts of the world: helping to bring peace and stability
to Afghanistan; helping to promote successful transitions and
democratic reforms in the Arab world. We worked alongside each other to
end a dictator’s rule in Libya. We are now focused on helping the people
of Syria realize a better future for themselves. We are grateful for
the leadership that the Prime Minister and his government have shown on
so many issues – just recently, I was in London for a conference on
Somalia that they sponsored. No matter what the issue, we are standing
together.
So I know, Prime Minister and Samantha, that this is just a small
measure of hospitality to try to demonstrate our commitment and
appreciation for this relationship. We were so well treated when the
President and I and our teams were on a state visit last year sponsored
by the government, of course, her Majesty’s Government. So, we did the
best we could with the weather. We think we pulled that off quite well.
But it is now my great pleasure to welcome a dear friend, a great
American, and a superb vice president, Joe Biden. (Applause.)
