Vice President Biden welcomed British Deputy Prime Minister Clegg today to the White House where the two leaders engaged in wide-ranging discussion over lunch. They discussed the floods and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Pakistan and pledged both our countries’ enduring support for the Pakistani people.  The Vice President thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for the outstanding contribution that British forces had made in Sangin, and the two leaders discussed progress and next steps in Afghanistan.  The Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister reviewed the strong defense ties between our countries, including the preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in Lisbon, and welcomed the unanimous vote of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in favor of the U.S.-UK Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty earlier this week.  They discussed efforts by each country to strengthen our economies, including ways to help working families and to draw from each government’s experiences and best practices.