B inbry tain. How about guys like me, im in favor of the Panama Papers and any time you can keep people out of the coffers, the best way is to drive the tax rates down. And now, welcome president obama on the fifth visit to the united king tornlgs and barack obama has been president for more than seven years and i have been Prime Minister for six years, and the two countries have been working together through some of the most difficult and troubled global times. We face the aftermath of the banking crisis, the need to revive growth and create jobs in the e kconomies, and new threat to the security from russia in the east to the rise of islamist t terror in the south, and huge global chals like ebola and climate change, and through it all the strong and essential partnership between our nations has never been more important. When 70 years ago last month Winston Churchill first described the special relationship it was not merely an enduring expression of friendship, but a way of working together. It is about two nation, Kindred Spirits sharing the same values and so often the same approaches to the many issues that we face. And just as for the predecessors that is true for barack obama and me, whether we are delivering National Security, emerging challenges, and today, we are discussing all of the three ip clugd Economic Security. And the Economic Security is challenged, but britain and the United States in the e economic news, we were the most Fastest Growing and we know how important the trade deals are in driving the growth, and barack and i are working hard to push forward adding billions to our economy and setting standards for the rest of the world to follow. On National Security with the partners in tu, we have used the economic muscle to avoid the calamity of an Iranian Nuclear weapon. And we are used sanctions gai against russia and ukraine, and secured the first legally bound agreement for Global Change being signed to dday by over 10 governments today at the United Nations. And we have used our military and diplomacy to help areas of the world. In east africa we have turned around the prospects of somalia and thanks to the eu proposition of that effort, those waters are not a safe haven for pirates on the waters. And we have helped to have the people in the region to prevent an outbreak of ebola, and france, guinea and southern nations, and so there are so much more work needed there. Is no doubt that the situation if libya is immensely challenging, but we have a government of National Accord with whom we can work, and while in syria and iraq, we are continuing the Coalition Efforts to defeat and degrade daesh. More than 25,000 daesh fighters have now been killed. Over 600 in the last month alone, and with the total number of daesh fighters now estimated to be at the lowest for about two years. The Iraqi Security forces are steadily pushing daesh out of its territory, and this week almost entirely clearing them out of the town, and our kurdish friends have nearly been cut off of mosul and cut off the isis road. And we have maintained our borders in the uk and we will continue to do so and we know that the challenge it poses to the friends and allies and to the continent of europe. This is the sort of the challenge that can only be tackled effectively through the International Cooperation, and nato is helping to reduce the number of migrants in the eastern mediterranean, and barack and i have discussed how nato can contribute to the central efforts in the mediterranean, too. And we need to the break the Business Model of the smugglers and together with the libyan partners and the government, we will look to see if there is more to do to strengthen the libyan coast guard. We will discuss this further when barack and i meet with the leaders of germany in hanover monday, and this is an opportunity to show how working together collectively we can better protect ourselves from the threats that we face. We also covered a number of new and emerging challenges where it is more important than ever to Work Together with the International Partners to identify problems and deal with them rapidly, and just as we have done with ebola, we need the same International Cooperation of dealing with zika virus and on the challenge of antimicrobial resistance, and Cyber Security and tackling corruption. Britain is holding an tie corruption summit here which secretary can kerry will at the end, and barack, and i have talked about today some of the thing tas we will achieve. One of the biggest problems is that if you are a country that wa wants to take action against terrorism, you have the go around the country to globally ask for help so we want a more Global Agency to help people work right across different jurisdiction, and when we get E International agreement here, both britain and america will contribute to set it up. All of the work we have done together, and at the same time, i think th i think that we have gotten to know each other very well. I am honored to have barack as a friend and he has taught me the rules of basketball, and beaten me at tennis, and i remember the barbeque at 10 downing street to on for the people who serve our countries here and together in the united always found barack someone with sage advice and man with a very good heart and been a very good friend and will always be a good friend i know to the United Kingdom. And let me finish by saying this, in all of the areas that we have discussed today, our collective power and reach is amplified by britains membership of the European Union and let me be clear when it comes to the special relationship between the two countries, and there is no greater enthusiast than me, and i am proud to have had the opportunity to be Prime Minister and stand outside of the white house listening to this man, my friend barack, saying that the special relationship between our two countries have never been stro stronger, but i have never felt constrained in any way of strengthening the relationship by the fact that we are in the European Union and in fact, quite the reverse. We deliver for all of our people through thE International groups that we are a part of. And enhance our security through the membership of nato, and further our prosperity through the g 7 and the g 20 and like those organizations, britains membership of the eu gives us a powerful tool to deliver on the prosperity and the security that our people need and to stand up for the values that our countries share. And now, i think that it is a time to say true to the values and stick together with our friends and allies in europe and around the world. Thank you very much. Barack. Thank you, david. As always, it is wonderful to be here in london and meet with my good friend David Cameron. I confess that i have also come back to wish her majesty, the queen a happy birthday and earlier today michelle and i had the honor to join her majesty and his Royal Highness the duke of ed din binboro as the guests Windsor Castle to convey the good wishes of the american people. I have to say that i have never been driven bay duke of edinboro before and i can report that it was very smooth riding. As for the majesty, the queen has been a source of inspiration for me and like so many people around the world. She is truly one of my favorite people. Should we be fortunate enough to reach 90, may we be as vibrant as she is. She is an astonishing person, and a real jewel to the world and not just to the United Kingdom. The alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom is one of the oldest and the strongest that the world has ever known. When the u. S. And the uk stand together, we make our kcountrie more secure and make our people more prosperous and we make the world safer, and better. That is why one of the first overseas visit as president was to london. At a time of global crisis. The one thing that i knew as green as i was as a new president was that it was absolutely vital that the United States and the United Kingdom working together in an International Forum tackle the challenges together, and leverage our relationship to have an impact on other countries. I met with david on that visit, and he was not yet Prime Minister, but just as our nations share a special relationship, david and i have shared an extraordinary partnership. He has prove n to be a great friend and one of my closest and most trusted partners. Over the six years or so that the our terms have overlapped, we have met or spoken more time than i can count, because we share our countrys beers with each other and he vouches for his and i vouch for mine. And taken in a basketball game in america, and david i think that you should recall that we were partners in that pingpong game, and we lost to some schoolchildren [ laughter ] i cant remember whether they were 8 or 10, but they were decidedly shorter than we were. And they whooped us. Sm samantha and michelle, our better halves have become good friends as well, and it is the depth and the breadth of that special relationship that has helped us to tackle some of the most daunting challenges of the world. And around the world, we have helped stop the outbreak of ebola and stopping iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon and protecting a climate in paris to help protect our planet for future generation, and today on earth day, our governments along with 170 others are in new york to sign that agreement. The u. S. Is committed to formally joining it this year which should help it take effect years earlier than anybody expected. We also discuss ed ted the fully of challenges to the shared security. We remain resolute in our efforts to prevent terrorist attacks against the people, and to continue the progress ta we have e made in rolling back and ultimately defeating isil, and the forces as david said are removing the top leaders and safe havens from the battlefield. We have to keep working to improve security and information sharing across europe and to stem the flow of fighters into and out of syria. And we have been work ting to increase the prospects for stability. In libya going forward, we have the opportunity to support a new government and help the libyans to rout out extremist elements n. Syria, as challenging as it is, it is still where we need to sew see more progress of the enduring ceasefire, and we are pushing for more humanitarian access for the people who need it most. We have to continue to invest in nato to meet the overseas commitments from afghanistan to the agian. And we have to resolve the conflict of the ukraine and reassure those concerned about russian aggression. All nato allies should aim for the target of spending 2 of the gdp on defense, and something that david has made sure happens here in the uk to meet that standard. We discuss ed new actions that e can take to address the refugee crisis including with the nato allies, and because a Strong Defense relies on more than just military spending, but on helping to unleash the potential of others to lead freer and more prosperous lives i want to thank the people of the United Kingdom as those of the generosity of the worlds foremost donors of humanitarian aid. We have talked about promoting jobs through the transatlantic free trade investment, and the young people can achieve greater prosperity, and yes, the Prime Minister and i discuss ed the upcoming referendum here on whether the uk should remain part of the European Union. Let me be clear, this is something that ultimately the british voters have to decide for themselves, but as part of the special relationship, part of being friends is to be honest. And to let you know what i think. And speaking honestly, the outcome of the decision is matter of deep interest to the United States, because it affects our prospects as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner, and the United Kingdom is at the best to lead a strong europe. It leverages uk power to be part of the European Union. As i wrote in the oped here today, i dont believe that the eu moderates british influence in the world, but it magnifies it. The eu has helped to spread the British Values and practices across the continent, and the Single Market brings extraordinary economic benefits to the United Kingdom, and that ends up being good for america, because we are more prosperous when one of our best friends and closest allies has a strong and stable and growing economy. Americans want britains influence to grow. Including within europe. The fact is that in todays world, no nation is immune to the challenges that david and i just discussed and in todays world, solving them requires collective action. All of us cherish the sovereignty, and my country is pretty vocal about that, but the u. S. Also recognizes that we strengthen the security through our nebshmembership in nato, ano through organizations like g7 and g20 and the uk strengthening their strength and prosperity through the eu. In the 20th century, the nations that make their presence felt on the world stage are not the nations that go it alone, but those who team up to aggregate their power and multiply the influen influence. Precisely because britains values and institutions are so strong and sound, we want to make sure that influence is heard. And it is felt that it influences other countries to think about critical issues. We have confidence that when the uk is involved in a problem, that they are going to the el h help solve it in the right way. That is why the United States cares about this. You know, for centuries europe was marked by war and by violence. The architecture that our two countries helped to build with the eu has provided the foundation for decades of relative peace and prosperity on that continent. What a are remarkable legacy, and a legacy borne in part of what happened right here in this building. Before we walked out i saw enigma on display, and that is a remind er of the incredible innovation and collaboration of the allies in world war ii and the fact that neither of us could have won that alone. In the same way, after world war ii we built out thE International institutions that, yes, occasionally constrained us. But we willingly allowed the constraints, because we understood that by doing so we were able to institutionalize an internationalize the basic rules of law and freedom and democracy that would benefit our citizens as well as people around the world. Now, i think that there is a british poet who once said that no man is an island, and even an island as beautiful as this. We are stronger together, and if we continue to tackle our challenges together, then future generations will look back on ours just as we look back on the previous generation of english and american citizens who worked so hard to make this world safer and more secure and more prosperous, and they are going to say that we did our part. That is important. It is important not just here, but it is important in the United States as well. Thanks. Thank you very much. All right. We have some questions, and we will start with the questions from the british press, and chris ship from itv. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Chris ship from the itv news. Mr. President , you, yourself, acknowledge the controversial timing of your comments on the Eu Referendum and the spirited debate that we are having here, and i think that you are right in the weeks before your arrival here lead campaigners are saying that you are acting hypocritically and america would not accept the loss of sovereignty that we have to accept as part of the eu and america would not accept the levels of immigration from mexico that we have to accept, and from the eu, and therefore in various degrees of politeness they have said to you that you should really keep your views to yourself. And with that in mind, mr. President , do you still believe it is the right decision to intervene in this debate, and ki ask you this, what crucially happens if the uk does decide in u june to leave the european un n union. First of all, let me rerepeat this is a decision for the people of the United Kingdom the make. I am not coming here to fix any votes, and i am not casting a vote myself. I am offering an opinion. And in democracies, everybody should want more information and not less, and you should not be afraid to hear an argument being ma made. That is not a threat. That shouldn hance the debate. Particularly because my understanding is that some o