welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. we are just moments away from a joint news conference between president obama, and french president, francois hollande. another first for the first woman to lead the federal reserve, making her debut on capitol hill. we'll have 125 separate pieces of snow equipment. >> and a state of emergency, and

the first flakes have yet to fall. the south bracing for what is being billed as the worst ice storm in decades. ♪ welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. we want to take you live now to the east room of the white house. that is where we are awaiting a joint news conference between president obama, and french president francois hollande. mike viqueira quite the history between these two leaders. >> reporter: well, that's right, and there has already been several nods to that shared history. coming to the white house, we have to cross lafayette park, instrumental in helping the american revolutionary forces, and yesterday these two presidents, president obama, president hollande going

directly from the air force base and heading to montachello, the home of thomas jefferson, so we have already heard today from these two gentlemen talking about the shared history of our two countries the arrival ceremony on the south land. there is a lot of pomp and circumstance to go along with an official state visit. it is only afforded to america's closest ally. today we saw that arrival ceremony. the shaking of hands, the working the rope line, and some very pleasant, respectful statements from both presidents. let's have a listen. >> mr. president like generations before us, we now have the task not simply to preserve our enduring alliance, but to make it new for our time.

no one nation can meet today's challenges alone, or seize its opportunities. more nations must step up and meet the responsibilities of leadership, and that's what the united states and france are doing together. >> translator: france and the united states stand side by side to make these values prevail. we stand together with the united states to address the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons, together to solve the crises faced by the middle east, together to support africa's development, and together to fight global warming and climate change. >> del, here we are in the east room, and in just a few minute's time we expect to see these two presidents. they will have opening remarks, and then be taking questions from the french media con tin gebt and the american media

contingent. we talk about the pomp and circumstance, but there are obviously very serious issues to be discussed. they have met in the oval office already. the top of the list has to be syria. the president on the brink of military action in syria with his allies. then the president saying he was going to congress. and some french officials were very upset of that. iran and the sanctions regime there, as negotiations continue over iran's nuclear program. the nsa scandal. although it is said that the french are not quite as upset as the germans even though france roy hollande's phone was also

tapped. >> mike viqueira, at the white house. mike stand by. we are going to go to martin walker who is an international fairs columnist, and served as a foreign correspondent and european editor at the guardian, he is currently at the world policy institute. and joins us from washington this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> we heard the president try his best at french, and the french president chuckled, but with that humor aside, how has the relationship between france and the u.s. suffered and come back. >> back when 9/11 happened in 2001, and nato and the french as well all decided everybody had to stand firmly with the us.

but when it came to the iraq war, there was a great deal of anger about that towards the united states. and there was a great deal of self satisfaction in france when that war turned out to be very much more difficult than at first it seemed. by the french have been in afghanistan out there, and very much in support of the usa in syria and iran. if anything the french have been rather tougher on iran than the americans have, and played a very important role in bringing us close to possible negotiations. and the french along with the british played a leading role in libya. but there are more difficult issues, one for both of these presidents they are facing quite a lot of domestic opposition, so for each of them, it's very important to show they are being

active and successful on the international stage, and of course, hollande has been leading the drive in moli. so he is being a very active and supportive ally. now there are still big issues around. and both relate to commerce. one is on the transatlantic trade and investment pact which the europeans really want. but as we know the senate majority leader, harry reid although a democrat has made it clear he is not going to support fast track for president obama to negotiate that kind of trade pact at least not before the midterm elections. and president hollande is heading to california to talk to people at google, and facebook,

and twitter. and that's interesting, because the french authorities raided the offices of google. and they are suing amazon for about $250 million back taxes. >> martin, i need to point out to you, the phrase i always tell mike viqueira at the white house, we're awaiting a news conference right now, so if i cut you off i apologize in advance. but the relationship to these two countries is one of the oldest. >> that's right. i think the french were rather more concerned at the time with giving the british a black eye necessarily than giving the americans a helping hand. after all they had just lost their empire in canada. but the french have traditionally been pretty close allies with the usa, but they

have this particular sense of national glory and prestige, which means they can be fairly prickly allies. don't for get when a former president withdrew all troops. and lbj said do he also mean the american dead? >> martin walker stand by. mike viqueira at the white house. mike, i want you to touch for a second on the pomp and circumstance we saw this morning. >> okay. >> these are big deals when the u.s. officially welcomes another head of state. >> it's interesting in this day and age when the president can teleconference and pick up the phone and talk to any world leader at anytime, why is this

still necessary? why is this three-day visit -- of course we talked about the trip yesterday, and the ritual surrounding this day, the luncheon, president hollande will luncheon with secretary of state john kerry and joe biden, and then the state dinner tonight. and the obamas have tented off a portion of the south lawn, that's a relatively rare occurrence. normally happen here or across the way in the state dining room. so there's a lot that goes into this session. and also president hollande will go to silicon valley. and the past french president to come for a state visit spoke to a joint session of congress in the house chamber. president hollande choosing not

to do that. a little confusion about where that decision came from. so putting all of that aside, yes, not everyone gets to come to one of these. not everyone is invited obviously. this is the sixth of the obama administration close allies, like the uk, south korea, mexico, india, the bergening economic power, perhaps most infamously that party known for the party crashers and the subsequent security breach there that had so many people concerned it generate sod many headlines, but just to tie it all together, the symbolism of a state visit, and there is a great deal of symbolism, obviously. we talked about the marching on the south lawn. the president of brazil was invited to come here for a state

dinner to strength the ties between the united states brazil. she canceled because it was revealed that the nsa had been conducting surveillance in brazil and among the brazilian leadership as well. so she was really left with no choice but to cancel because of the anger that that generated domestically there. so, yes, sure there is politics involved, and plenty of symbolism around a state visit, there's no question, del. >> mike, we're going to take about a minute break. on the back end if we have time we'll talk about the interesting seat chart ahead of tonight's state dinner, but we're going to take a break. we're awaiting the joint news conference.

this is a live scene coming from the east room of the white house. that is president obama and french president francois hollande. >> it's a great hop for to welcome my friend and partner, president hollande back to the white house for this state visit. it is always a pleasure to host president francois. two years ago, i was trying to make the visit casual. when i hosted him in chicago for the summit, i thought he would try some of our local cuisine, a hot dog, and i'm not sure he had one, but this is the first trip to america as a student 40 years

ago, and he studied the fast-food industry. so back in 1974 you noticed a french guy poking around your local mcdonald's, that was him. [ laughter ] >> now he is back as the 24th president of france. and michelle and i look forward to hosting time tonight at a state dinner with a different kind of american cuisine. alex the great son of france who chronicled our american democracy wrote that even as we marvel as our freedom, there is nothing harder than learning how to use our freedom. this is a lesson that our two countries have learned over more than 200 years. standing together, and using our freedom to improve the lives of not only our citizens but people arrange the world, is what makes france one of our closest

allies. our intelligence and military personnel cooperate ever day. diplomats work side by side to help promote peace from syria to iran. our development experts help impoverished villages, boost their agriculture and lift themselves out of poverty. in this area of partnership, it would have been unimaginable even a decade ago, but it's a testament of how our two nations have worked to transform our alliance. francois you haven't just spokenel kwenly about france's determination to meet its responsibilities as a global leader, you have also acted there molli, to syria and iran, you have shown courage and resolve, and i want to thank you for your leadership and being

such a strong parter in with the united states. i'm grateful to the progress we have made today in four key areas. first we're standing shoulder to shoulder on the key challenges to global security. we have succeeded in halting and rolling back key parts of the iranian nuclear program. we agree next week's talks will be an opportunity for iran to show it is serious about a comprehensive solution that assures the world that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. the president and i agree on the need to continue enforcing existing sanctions, even if they endanger the possibility of a diplomatic solution. and we remain united on our goal of preventing iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

just as the threat of force lead to a plan for destroying syria's chemical weapons, we're united on what needs to happen next there. syria must meet its commits and russia has a responsibility to ensure that syria complies. and as talked in geneva will continue to strengthen the talks. this week we're working with our security council partners to call for an end to

[ technical difficulties ] >> -- and the central african republic where leaders and communities need to show the resistance of further violence. second key area, as major trading partners, we're working to boost exports and create jobs. we're launching a new economic dialogue to expand trade, increase the competitiveness of our businesses, spur innovation and encourage new entrepreneurs, and the president's visit to silicon valley this week underscores our commitment to new collaboration in science and technology. we have agreed to continue pursuing an ambitious trans-atlantic trade partnership. we need to get this done because an agreement could increase exports by tens of billions of dollars, support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in

the united states and the european union. number three we have agreed to keep expanding the cooperation and clean ennergy partnerships. and even as we take steps at home to reduce carbon emissions, we'll work to help developing countries move to low-carbon growth. and next year's carbon conference in flans be an opportunity to forge a strong global agreement that [ technical difficulties ] >> -- and i'm pleased that we're joining with partners around the world to help combat infectious diseases and save lives.

this is just some of the progress we're making together using our freedoms to advance security, prosperity and human dignity around the world. and francois, i would not be more grateful for your partnership and friendship, and thank you for honoring our d-day veterans today. and i have accepted francois's invitation and will travel to france in june to mark the 70th anniversary of d-day. it was there for the 65th anniversary, and it was an extraordinary experience. i'm looking forward to returning to honor our veterans and reaffirm this extraordinary alliance. president hollande. >> translator: receive me today as you have the day after my

election. with the same sincerity, with the same respect, and with the same friendship with france. you didn't know me back then. i knew you. there was a major difference there. between us. because your election had been welcome in france beyond any political views for its was proof that america was moving forward. once more america was able to make something possible, to make progress possible. when you received me here it was in camp david. let's forget about the tie. as you can see i'm wearing a tie today. you welcomed me at a time that was challenging for, because what was at stake was the very existence of the your row zone,

and was the euro zone going to be able to come out of this doubt that prevailed on the euro zone and on financial markets and your call for solidarity and growth was heard and was extremely useful back then. since then -- since this meeting in camp david, europe has come out of its financial crisis. it now has the relevant instruments of stability, and has introduced banking union. i also remember our meeting in chicago. i remember that in chicago i had announced that france would withdrawal its combatting troops from afghanistan but it wasn't an easy decision to make. it wasn't an easy decision to understand, and yet you accepted, and we remained in afghanistan in spite of this at

a lower level to the level we had anticipated in earlier times, but you accepted this movement all the more so because this was part and parcel of a commitment i had made before the french people similar to the one you made before the american people when you came to iraq. you recalled our historic relations, and i shall not mention again the warm reception of yesterday, but i would like today here to pay tribute to the american unknown soldier, fallen during world war ii to veterans, american veterans of the second word war who enabled france to be liberated and indeed europe. we will commemorate the 70

anniversary of d-day landing. i have invited you to come join me on the 6th of june, and you have just accepted this invitation, which i welcome. this will be a strong message because we will commemorate the sacrifices made by those soldiers but celebrate consolidation and peace. france and the united states are two countries which due to their history and their place in history, but also due to their seat as permanent members of the un security council, can act on security throughout the world for freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and this is precisely what france did with the help of

our american friends in molli. this operation was successful. and it was only successful because a decision was made by the international community, it was successful because americans took part and europeans help as well as americans, who also gave their support, and a president has now been elected in moli jiks and the -- molian state has been formed. the idea was to prevent what could have been a humanitarian disaster. there have been already brutal actions that affected a population that was already suffering a great deal. there are violence every day, there are clashes every day, but

france does what it can with the help of other european nations and with the help of americans. and this bares witness to an exceptional situation in our history, because our countries have always been allies, have always been friends, but now we trust each other in an unprecedented manner. and this characteristic of our personal relationship, but also of our common goals. barack obama reminded us of our position in syria. we were prepared to resort to force, but we found another option, negotiations. we made it possible for part of the chemical weapon stockpile to be destructed, but we haven't found a political solution. geneva is a possible step in the

right direction, but we will have to make headway, and cooperate more, we need to support the opposition, we need to make sure that the choice is not between dictatorship on the one hand, and chaos on the other, chaos with the extremists and fundamentalists. and we found a potential solution. ironically we have found common ground. it's a challenging issue, and finding a final agreement will be challenging, but the iranian nuclear program has been suspended, and this is precisely the outcome of our collaboration. collaboration between france and the united states of america. we also act in the middle east, and i welcome the american initiative to resume

negotiations, the framework of agreement needs to be signed now in france and europe will certainly give their support to that two-state solution. we are also extremely attentive to what happens in lebanon. lebanon is a country with which france has historic ties. there again, france and the united states stands side by side in order to help this country resist this massive inflow of refugees with risks of clashes that are ubiquitous and this risk of return to state of war that is a reality, so we need to support lebanon and make sure it is supported in its humanity and integrity. we also helped jordan receive refugees. so on all international issues,

we have convergent views and stand united, not that we ever debate or partly disagree. we always respect each other's sovereignty. that is a fundamental principle in our relation. we also on the economic front. america experiences a recovery in its growth due to the policy and the political choices made, due to steps made by the united states, the united states of america trusts innovation, energy, it also benefits from low-costs of energy, and bold decisions. this economic recovery is an opportunity for europe, but it also is an example to be followed, of reference, that should encourage us to promote competitivety through the necessary means, but also to