US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister
David Cameron toasted the "special relationship" between their two
countries Saturday, swapping bottles of beer after a World Cup
bet.
The pair, who travelled to Toronto for the G20 summit together
in Obama's helicopter after technical issues grounded Cameron's,
clinked bottles after their first meeting since Cameron took office
last month.
They hailed the "special relationship" between their two
countries after exchanging the drinks following a bet on who would
win this month's World Cup football game between England and the
United States which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Obama presented Cameron with a bottle of Goose Island 312 from
his home city of Chicago, while Cameron gave Obama a bottle of
Hobgoblin, which is made in his constituency in Oxfordshire, west
of London.
"I advised him that in America we drink our beer cold, so he has
to put this in the refrigerator before he drinks it," the president
joked.
On relations between the two countries, Obama told reporters
that he and Cameron had "established a strong working relationship
and we are confident that the special relationship is only going to
get stronger in the months and years to come."
Cameron agreed, saying: "The relationship between our two
countries I think is incredibly strong and I think can get stronger
in the years ahead."
Britain is the second-largest contributor of troops to the war
in Afghanistan after the United States, but the two did not refer
to the recent dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal, commander of
US and NATO forces.
"We're convinced that we have the right strategy to provide the
time and the space for the Afghan government to build its capacity
over the next several months and years," Obama said.
Nor did they publicly comment on BP, the British-based oil giant
whose actions have drawn sharp criticism in the United States over
its handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst
environmental disaster in US history.
But Downing Street later said the British-based oil giant had
been discussed and the pair agreed it should remain "strong and
stable."
Obama was accused of having snubbed Cameron's predecessor Gordon
Brown on his first visit to Washington by presenting him with a
disappointing gift -- a set of DVDs that would not even work in a
British player.
Brown had tried to impress his new colleague by giving him an
ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian
anti-slave ship HMS Gannet, sister ship of HMS Resolute, from which
Obama's Oval Office desk was carved.
Cameron is due to visit the White House on July 20 and will be
hoping for a warmer reception.