mr. minister i. want to foil out on something you said about the possible privatization in nigeria. do you have a timeframe for such an asset sale? what kind of revenues could you see coming from that and just in general, do you have an expression of interest from other players in the sector? >> well, the privatization from some of the operation as nnpc our being in our view misconceived because the idea that look to privatize everything is owned by the government is frankly nonsense because if we're going to grow nnpc to world-class oil and gas company, there is no way you can exclude them from any part of the oil and gas chain. so we have no problem with privatization. we've got private public partnership and we are developing right now as we're speaking a model for our privatization of the refineries and we're also looking at refineries that will be jointly built by nnpc. and so that will be private practice patience. we will have to work it out. and talking about advisors, a view of public enterprises. in fact, they went too far. they serve some of our refineries, i will say for

mr. prime minister. can i pay tribute to sergeant lachman dixon. i want to pay tribute to p.c. bill barker protecting the lives of others from those dreadful floods. he was as the prime minister said part of an extraordinary effort by emergency services and voluntary groups who worked day and night to keep people safe. as the prime minister and i both have seen the community spirit shown by residents in dealing with these floods is a real inspiration. as was said one of the biggest issues is the state of the bridges. communities have been cut in half, trips to school that used to take five minutes now take an hour and a half. the prime minister spoke about what's being done on a national basis including mobilizing army resources. and he talked about plans for a temporary bridge. could he tell us how quickly those could be put up to get these families together. >> i heard all he said about the emergency services and indeed the whole range of emergency services whom we depend. it is times like these of the public services that help the community. we're examining whether a tempora

minister. >> mr. speaker, before i begin, i am sure the whole house would like to join me to pay tribute to sgt dixon from the second regiment royal military police who has died in afghanistan. we send our sincere condolences to his family and friends. he and the sacrifice he has made will not be forgotten. all of us will also want to pay tribute to police constable bill barker who died in the course of duty, serving the community he was so committed to. also those a lost their lives in the recent floods. and with all those affected by the serious flooding, you will have our support now and into the future. let us as a house also paid tribute to the emergency services of the armed forces and all those organizations that have been doing an outstanding job working around-the-clock to help those areas of our country affected by the floods. >> can i began by associating myself with the comments that the prime minister has made regarding started dixon. as the prime minister said, we have witnessed appalling floods and near

mr. david cameron. >> thank you. can i join the prime minister in paying tribute to sergeant dixon, killed last week. our thoughts should be with his family. and i join him in paying tribute to p.c. bill barker, who died in the line of duty, protecting others from the floods. he was part of an extraordinary effort by emergency services and voluntary efforts who worked day and night to keep people safe. as we have seen, the community spirit shown by residents in dealing with these floods is a real inspiration. as was said, one of the biggest issues is the state of the bridges. communities have been cut in half. trips to school that used to take five minutes now take an hour and a half. the are prime minister spoke what being done on a national bees, including mobilizing army resources, and he spoke about a temporary bridge. could owe tell you how quickly that will be put up. >> the whole range of emergency services is on whom we depend. we realize the importance of all the public services and voluntary services that help our country. as i did say,

and i commend this statement to the house. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i think the prime minister for his statement, before turning to afghanistan, mr. speaker, may i put write something i got wrong last week? the two islamic schools i mentioned money, wiley receive that money under a pathfinders in, it was not the pathfinder's team with -- concerned with combating extreme is. i'm sorry for the era. believe when getting a fact wrong you should put it right, but i continue to believe it is wrong that taxpayers money goes to schools run by extremists. in afghanistan, 235 british service personnel and ministry of defence staff have lost a lives, and many more have been injured. this is a high price to pay preferred stock, let me endorse absolutely what the prime minister has said about our forces. they are doing an extra mirror job and they have the admiration and the support of our whole country. they are doing an extraordinary job than they have the aberration and the support of our whole country. -- they have the admiration and the support of our whole country. the sooner that hap

i see fred bergsten. dollars mr. prime minister> mr >> i do not think i will be held answer your question. >> the things i will convert into the economist mode. in his speech, at the else that you talk about the economics being the foundation of relations between countries. your government has negotiated free-trade agreements with a number of your trading partners. you are now talking with the european union, japan, canada, and others. my question is, what about the united states? would you be interested in a free trade negotiation with the united states, but to kill lee cents, in the absence thereof, if you complete trade agreements with all your major partners, you will be discriminating against the united states and it might make it more difficult to carry out the type of relationship we all want? >> there is no easy answer to your question. i do recognize the great affects of free trade agreements. to your question, would we like to have a free trade agreement with the united states? let me say, my first preference is that the

mr. prime minister >> i do not think i will be held answer your question. >> the things i will convert intothe economist mode. in his speech, at the else that you talk about the economics being the foundation of relations between countries. your government has negotiated free-trade agreements with a number of your trading partners. you are now talking with the european union, japan, canada, and others. my question is, what about the united states? would you be interested in a free trade negotiation with the united states, but to kill lee cents, in the absence thereof, if you complete trade agreements with all your major partners, you will be discriminating against the united states and it might make it more difficult to carry out the type of relationship we all want? >> there is no easy answer to your question. i do recognize the great affects of free trade agreements. to your question, would we like to have a free trade agreement with the united states? let me say, my first preference is that the multilateral trading system itself should evolve in the direction where there is a reduced rol

mr. minister, i wanted to follow up on something you said about the privatization of downstream assets innigeria and other petro chemical businesses. do you have such a time frame for asset sale? what kind of revenues could you see coming from that? and just in general. and have you had an expression of interest from other players in the sector? >> the privatization of some of the operation has been in our view obviously misconceived because the idea that privatizing everything that is owned by the government is nonsense because if we're going to grow it into a world class oil and gas company, no way you could exclude them from any part of the oil and gas chain. so we have no problem with privatization. we have nigeria l.n.g. is a good example of public-private partnership and we are developing right now as we're speaking a model for our privatization of the refineries, which will be jointly built by l.p.c. and private people. so that will be private participation. we have to work it out. and talking about the bureau of public enterprises has advisers. they went too far. they sold some of

i invite questions from the audience? we have a few questions. secretary william culleohen? >> mr. prime minister, thank you for your brilliant presentation this afternoon. you talked about the u.s.-india business council and how it is successful in promoting the civil nuclear agreement. i would like to say on behalf of the united states, without your courage and your willingness to put your government on the line, it never would have happened, so we owe you a great deal in promoting this individual agreement. [applause] i cannot expand on all of the adjectives that tom donohuue and idran extended to you, but we look forward to you as being the leader of the region, we look forward to sharing intelligence with india, and we know we share many interests and ideals. one thing we share in common is the threat of terrorism, and the sharing of intelligence is going to be critical to your security and hours because of all of the business interests that are represented here but, with all the promotion of economic prosperity, none of it will be impossible without security and stability. we recognize indi

i think it is as clear as that. >> tony lloyd. ? >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will be aware of the warning of the top cop of the dangers and the widespread need about the investments in the police commissioners. can the prime minister tell the house whether this labour government will ever allow the police to be politicized as the conservatives propose? >> mr. speaker, the operational independence the chief police officers is of and has been and should continue to be an important constitutional principle. it must be clear that chief officers and chief officers alone are responsible for running their force. and i believe that the leader of the opposition should immediately withdraw his proposal that would mean the politization of the police and has been criticized by the chairman in the last few days. >> dr. evan harris. >> when the lord chancellor in march talked out my private members bill which would end the discrimination against catholics in the role of secession and women in the line of succession. the government recognized this discrimination should end.

i think it is as clear as that. >> tony lloyd. ? >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will be aware of the warning of the top cop of the dangers and the widespread need about the investments in the police commissioners. can the prime minister tell the house whether this labour government will ever allow the police to be politicized as the conservatives propose? >> mr. speaker, the operational independence the chief police officers is of and has been and should continue to be an important constitutional principle. it must be clear that chief officers and chief officers alone are responsible for running their force. and i believe that the leader of the opposition should immediately withdraw his proposal that would mean the politization of the police and has been criticized by the chairman in the last few days. >> dr. evan harris. >> when the lord chancellor in march talked out my private members bill which would end the discrimination against catholics in the role of secession and women in the line of succession. the government recognized this discrimination should end.

mr. prime minister, in that spirit i welcome to the united states of america. [applause] >> mr., mrs. obama, thank you very much for your warm words of welcome, mr. president. my wife and i are deeply honored to be in your great country on the first state visit of your presidency. [applause] >> mr. president, i bring to you and the people of the united states of america the friendly greetings of over 1 billion people of india. [applause] >> india and america are separated by distance but bound together by the self-democracy, feudalism, rule of law and respect for fundamental human freedoms. over the years, we have built upon these values and created a partnership that is based upon both principle and pragmaticism. . .. this is a moment of great opportunity in our relationship. india and the united states can and must work together to harness the immense potential of our enterprising people, and support each of us, growth and prosperity. we should cooperate in addressing global challenges of combating terrorism, making our environment cleaner, and moving towards a world free of n

we look forward to celebrating our partnership tonight as michele and i host the prime minister and mrsthe first state dinner of our presidency -- of my presidency. it will be another opportunity to convey to the people of india as india assumes its rightful place as a global leader in the 20% three that you have in it -- have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. -- as a global leader in the 21st century that you have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. >> mr. president, distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media, i thank from the core of my heart president obama for his very generous hospitality and for his very warm sentiments towards india and to me in particular. i am honored to be here today in this great country at the invitation of his excellency, the president. when india and the united states meat, it is a moment to celebrate the values of democracy, pluralism, liberty, and freedom. today, we have done that and much more. in our discussions today we hear of the importance of our relationship and decided on future steps

[laughter] >> i am sorry, mr. prime minister. [inaudible] what assurance can you give that pakistan will not act again against india and 26/11 will not be repeated? >> hi sincerely hope that the combined pressure of india and the united states will ensure that the costly attacks that took place on 26/11 does not happen once again. but i do recognize the obligation of the government of india to protect its citizens. we will strengthen our internal security measures to the greatest extent possible. we will do all that is necessary to assure that there is no repetition of this costly pacacf 26/11. i strongly suspect that the whole civilized world would back india and that. -- in that. we appreciate the cooperation that we have been receiving from the u.s. in this regard after the events of 26/11 $3 last question. -- of 26/11. >> last question. >> [speaking indian] >> [speaking in thdian] had been very satisfied with the -- i have been very satisfied with what the president asked me about the matter. >> thank you for your presence.

we look forward to celebrating our partnership tonight as michele and i host the prime minister and mrscarr at the first state dinner of our presidency -- of my presidency. it will be another opportunity to convey to the people of india as india assumes its rightful place as a global leader in the 20% three that you have in it -- have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. -- as a global leader in the 21st century that you have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. >> mr. president, distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media, i thank from the core of my heart president obama for his very generous hospitality and for his very warm sentiments towards india and to me in particular. i am honored to be here today in this great country at the invitation of his excellency, the president. when india and the united states meat, it is a moment to celebrate the values of democracy, pluralism, liberty, and freedom. today, we have done that and much more. in our discussions today we hear of the importance of our relationship and decided on futu

we look forward to celebrating our partnership tonight as michele and i host the prime minister and mrs. carr at the first state dinner of our presidency -- of my presidency. it will be another opportunity to convey to the people of india as india assumes its rightful place as a global leader in the 20% three that you have in it -- have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. -- as a global leader in the 21st century that you have no better friend and partner than the united states of america. >> mr. president, distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media, i thank from the core of my heart president obama for his very generous hospitality and for his very warm sentiments towards india and to me in particular. i am honored to be here today in this great country at the invitation of his excellency, the president. when india and the united states meat, it is a moment to celebrate the values of democracy, pluralism, liberty, and freedom. today, we have done that and much more. in our discussions today we hear of the importance of our relationship and decided on fu

mrs. obama, previewed this dinner earlier today. >> tonight the president and i will be hosting our first state dinner. and we are hosting for the prime ministernd his wife, whom we met earlier today. one of the things we thought -- i do not know about all of you -- is whether you wonder what are the state dinners about? when i was your age, i did not know what they were doing. we thought it would be fun to take time to expose you to what is going to happen today and this evening. so that is why you are here today and we are excited to have you. the state visits and dinners are a really important part of our nation's diplomacy. throughout history, they have given u.s. presidents and the american people the opportunity to make important milestones in foreign relations. so these dinners and events are critical to what we do internationally. and they have helped build stronger ties with nations as well as people all around the world. that is what president obama and prime minister singh are doing today. and i know that all of us on our team here in the west wing and the east wing, we wish we could include many, many more people in today's events

i am going under the premise that basically mr. obama announced to the public yesterday that he is going to be a one-term president. host: why is that? caller: india's prime minister , during his speech, made the statement that afghanistan is a friend of india. what happens in afghanistan will affect the future of pakistan. i'm going under the premise that afghanistan is just like vietnam. it is a loser. it is already owned by the taliban. according to mr. singh, he said afghanistan is a friend of india. he announced to the world yesterday. he's in a no-win situation. host: that is peter in philadelphia. next caller in phoenix, good morning to you. caller: i think this whole war is a big mistake. host: why is that? caller: we're in a no-win situation going into afghanistan. the soviets with in there, and the afghanis ran them out of theire. is a no-win situation. we are going to send in 30,000 troops to get slaughtered? it does not make any sense. host: "usa today" leads on a public opinion poll on the war. susan page has written the story. host host: next telephone call is from clearwater, fla. on the democrats' line. caller: i say we should absolutely get out no

i don't see a 1994 shaping up. >> mr. chairman, as you liked to be congressman, thank you for coming and talking to us today. >> good to be with you. >> the indian prime minister is in the nation's capitol getting ready for the steak dinner. he will be speaking to the u.s. chamber of commerce later today on c-span 12 p.m. live. a new discussion on mammograms, nancy brinker will comment later today. she's at the national press club. we will have that live here on c-span 2 at noon eastern time. >> tonight, net neutrality, improving broadband service in the u.s. julius genachowski maps out the goals for the agency on the communicators. >> former iowa congressman jim leach, now chairman spoke friday about multiculturalism. from the national press club, this is an hour. >> i thank you very much. i appreciate it. and i've been waiting all day for the opportunity, come on up, to ask a few questions of myself to ask the guest. thank you very much for being here. it's a bloomberg-washington summit. a little history for you, he worked in the u.s. attorneys office from new york, handled some very high-profile terrorist case there is. went to work on wall street, as a gen

mr. prime minister. can i pay tribute to sergeant lachman dixon. i want to pay tribute to p.c. bill barker protecting the lives of others from those dreadful floods. he was as the prime minister said part of an extraordinary effort by emergency services and voluntary groups who worked day and night to keep people safe. as the prime minister and i both have seen the community spirit shown by residents in dealing with these floods is a real inspiration. as was said one of the biggest issues is the state of the bridges. communities have been cut in half, trips to school that used to take five minut áa' i believe from the information i've had this could be done fairly quickly that we await the military engineers who working with the local authorities as we speak this morning. i hope we'll be able to get further information on the secretary of environment will get further information this afternoon. let me say absolutely that the costs of these repairs will be met by the department of transport. >> david cameron. >> thank you. we're very glad about the offer and the assurance about