LONDON: US President Barack Obama received a royal 41-gun salute at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday to begin a two-day state visit aimed at ensuring the United States and Britain keep the "special" in their relationship.
The royal family, who just recently enthralled the world with a fairy tale wedding for Prince William and Catherine gave Obama and his wife, Michelle, a taste of palace pomp and circumstance.
Obama is on the second stop of a four-nation European tour, arriving from Ireland late on Monday and planning to attend a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Deauville, France on Thursday and end the week in Poland. Obama is only the second American president to make a state visit to the UK. George W. Bush's made the first in 2003.
The Obamas met privately with the royal newlyweds, who did not attend the arrival ceremony. Later, after lunch at the palace, Obama planned to lay a wreath at Westminster Abbey, hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and attend a state dinner hosted by the queen.
While the two governments have had some differences over such issues as Libya, for example , where Obama is seen as less eager than Europeans to lead the battle, the president and Cameron stressed the unique status of U.S.-British relations in an opinion article published in the Times of London.
"Not just special, but an essential relationship," they wrote. "It's not only history that binds us. Whether fighting wars or rebuilding the economy, our needs and beliefs are the same."
Obama and Cameron are to announce the formation of a U.S.-British national security council to work together on international challenges and share intelligence, an Obama administration official said. It was not developed in response to any one issue, but will help enable "a more guided, coordinated approach to analyze the over the horizon challenges we may face in the future".
Asia, Middle East crowd the agenda
A speech at Westminster Hall on Wednesday may give Obama an opportunity to outline how Washington now views Europe in a crowded diplomatic agenda dominated by challenges from Asia to the Middle East.
A challenge for the two leaders is Libya. Obama, Cameron and NATO allies launched an air campaign in March to protect Libyan civilians from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a civil war between him and rebels.
While many Libyan civilians, especially in the east, were protected by NATO air strikes, Gaddafi remains in power. Obama, Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had said they will not stop bombing until he leaves power.
Obama and Cameron are also expected to review the fight against Islamist militants and relations with Pakistan after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces on May 2 in Pakistan.
Obama will be looking for British support for his call to advance movements for democratic change offered by the "Arab Spring" uprisings in the Middle East.
In the past decade, London was Washington's only big ally atwar in Iraq. Britain fields the second-largest contingent behindthe United States in Afghanistan, and more recently the twocountries along with France have led a Western air war in Libya.
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