Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 14, 2012 – 12:27 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon, everyone. Please have a seat. Again, it is a great honor to welcome my friend and partner, Prime Minister David Cameron, back to the White House for this official visit.
I know there’s been a lot of focus on last night’s game. Some have asked how it came about. So I want to set the record straight. During my visit to London last year, David arranged for us to play some local students — table tennis. As they would say in Britain, we got thrashed. So when it came to sports on this visit, I thought it would be better if we just watched. That said, I’m still trying to get David to fill out his bracket.
We’ve just finished up a very good discussion, and it was a reminder of why I value David’s leadership and partnership so much. He appreciates how the alliance between our countries is a foundation — not only for the security and prosperity of our two nations, but for international peace and security as well. David shares my belief that, in a time of rapid change, the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom is more important than ever. And we share the view that the future we seek is only possible if the rights and responsibilities of nations and people are upheld. And that’s a cause that we advanced today.
At a time when too many of our people are still out of work, we agree that we’ve got to stay focused on creating the growth and jobs that put our people back to work, even as both our countries make difficult choices to put our fiscal houses in order. Between us, we have the largest investment relationship in the world, and we’ve instructed our teams to continue to explore ways to increase transatlantic trade and investment. And I very much appreciate David’s perspective on the fiscal situation in the eurozone, where both our countries — our economies, our businesses, our banks — are deeply connected.
