Intro:
British Prime Minister David Cameron's heading to Washington this Thursday [15th January] - he'll be holding talks with President Obama on Thursday and Friday, covering a range of issues including the global economy and cyber security… and following the recent attacks in Paris, security cooperation will be high on the agenda as well. Our correspondent Lorna Shaddick reports from Washington.
IN: UPSOT clinking 'To Her Majesty...'
OUT: SOC
DUR: 2 mins 7 seconds
Script:
UPSOT Obama - To her Majesty the Queen, on her Diamond Jubilee, to our dear friends David and Samantha… Cheers, everyone. (Applause)
A banquet on the White House lawn, toasts to the Queen and much talk of the Special Relationship… when David Cameron came to Washington back in 2012, it was a State Visit in all but name.
This time, there'll be less of the pomp and circumstance… but a lot of the items on the agenda are the same… in particular, Syria, and the threat of global terror.
After last week's attacks in Paris, security co-operation against groups like Islamic State is likely to be top of the two leaders' lists for discussions at a working dinner on Thursday night - along with plans for joint defences against cyber-attacks.
There's good reason for co-operation, says Nile Gardiner of Washington's Heritage Foundation:
SOT: NILE GARDINER, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation
I think despite the fact you have a US Administration that hasn't necessarily made the special relationship a top priority, the special relationship still remains special. There are deep rooted ties between US and British military, the American and British intelligence services and at the end of the day Great Britain is by far the most powerful ally that the United States has on the international stage.
The Prime Minister will also be at the International Monetary Fund on Thursday, meeting Managing Director Christine Lagarde… on the table there, energy security - as well as the EU US trade and investment deal.
Fast forward to Friday morning, and sanctions against Russia, as well as dealing with Ebola, will be hot topics for the two leaders at the Oval Office.
The White House says the President's looking forward to beginning the new year working with the prime minister and reaffirming the special relationship. But some analysts believe the pair don't have as warm a friendship as some of their predecessors - Nile Gardiner again:
SOT: NILE GARDINER, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation 10.04. 50
Superficially there is a fairly close relationship between the two leaders but we're not talking Reagan-Thatcher here, or even Tony Blair and George W Bush. I think it's more of a pragmatic relationship between the two world leaders.
Pragmatic or not, with a general election in the UK in May, Mr. Cameron will be hoping that the alliance and this trip make for good headlines back home. If not, it could be his last visit to the US as Prime Minister. Lorna Shaddick, Washington/SOC