US and UK: "An Unbreakable Alliance"

The British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, in New Orleans to meet with state and local leaders, stopped by the uptown campus on Monday (March 21) to speak with Tulane President Scott Cowen and address an intimate gathering of students and faculty in the Lavin-Bernick Center.

Flanked by the Union Jack flag on one side and the Stars and Stripes on the other, Sheinwald delivered a speech entitled “Transatlantic Relations in the Age of Austerity,” discussing the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom, with the current economic environment as a backdrop.

“The budgetary challenges we face will not change the nature of the transatlantic relationship; austerity is a phase, not a permanent condition,” Sheinwald said.

Highlighting the shared economic and policy values of both nations, Sheinwald heralded the alliance that has stood strong for the better part of the last century.

“Our relationship with the United States will remain the most important bilateral relationship we have. We talk about it being an unbreakable or indispensable alliance, which is critical for our national prosperity and security now and in the decades ahead.”

The ambassador outlined his nation's continued goal to share the responsibility in the Middle East as well as in the new conflicts in Libya, saying that a unified front spanning the Atlantic would make acquiring a mandate from the United Nations that much easier.

“The U.K.'s ambition is that Europe should behave as, and be accepted as, a full partner in delivering foreign policy in the areas that both the U.S. and Europe care about,” Sheinwald said. “The latest opportunities to build that role are unfolding in North Africa. The events there are a reaffirmation that in today's world, Europe and America need to be united and determined.”