British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Washington on Tuesday for a three-day visit, during which time he is expected to discuss with US President Barack Obama future plans for Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear issue and the continued violence in Syria.
Cameron and his wife Samantha were greeted upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, by a guard of honor and a military band. They were then driven to the White House to meet President Obama.
After their brief meeting at the White House, the two leaders traveled together to Dayton, Ohio, on Air Force One to witness a NCAA men's basketball tournament game between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky.
Separately, First Lady Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron visited Washington's American University to spend some time with children taking part in a mini-Olympics event. Later, the two ladies will meet students from Elizabeth Garrett school in north London, who are currently in Washington on an invitation from Michelle Obama.
With his trip on board Air Force One to Dayton on Tuesday, Cameron became the first visiting foreign leader to be welcomed on to the presidential plane by President Obama.
"This Official Visit, the visit to Dayton and the State Dinner at the White House on Wednesday evening underscore the special relationship that the United States and the United Kingdom share," the White House said in a statement released earlier on Tuesday.
This is Cameron's second official visit to the United States in his capacity as the British Prime Minister. He had made his first official visit to the US as prime minister in July 2010. His current visit comes ahead of the NATO and G8 summits.
Earlier, Cameron and Obama had said in a joint article for Washington Post ahead of the visit that the relationship between the United States and the United kingdom was "a partnership of the heart, bound by the history, traditions and values we share".
Regarding the planned withdrawal of British and American troops from Afghanistan by 2014, the two leaders said they would discuss plans for "shifting to a support role in advance of Afghans taking full responsibility for security in 2014".
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has already begun the process of entrusting security responsibilities of several provinces to Afghan forces. The ISAF is aiming to complete the process by 2014, ahead of the eventual withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014.
The US and its allies are presently making efforts to get the Afghan security forces ready and capable of handling local security prior to the coalition troops eventual withdrawal. They believe a strong Afghan military is essential to fill the void left by the pullout.
Nonetheless, the situation in Afghanistan has become more tense in recent weeks, following the burning copies of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, at the Bagram airbase last month. This was followed by the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by an American soldier in shooting rampage earlier this week.
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