Deputy Prime Minister holds "warm, productive" talks with US Vice President
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has travelled to Washington for talks with US Vice President Joe Biden.
At their two hour meeting, Mr Clegg and Mr Biden said they stood “shoulder to shoulder” on the strategy in Afghanistan, insisting “the strategy was right, the resources were there”.
Mr Biden praised the progress made by British troops in Sangin in Afghanistan which was taken over by US troops earlier this week.
As well as Afghanistan, Mr Clegg and Mr Biden spoke about the floods in Pakistan issued a joint statement urging the international community to do more in support of flood relief efforts.
They recognised the “generosity” of contributions so far, but insisted there was “more to be done”.
They called for the international community to “respond fully, rapidly and with effective co-ordination and leadership”.
The joint statement said:
We encourage partners to meet in full pledges made at the 2009 Tokyo Donors meeting in addition to new pledges that are related to the floods.
The US and the UK affirm their commitment to sustained long-term post-flood reconstruction in Pakistan, beyond the immediate humanitarian needs.
We encourage other members of the international community to remain engaged as well.
Thursday’s face to face meeting follows a series of phone and video conferences between the Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President.
Read more: Deputy PM and US Vice President joint statement on Pakistan.
Read more: White House readout of the Deputy PM and US Vice President’s meeting.