PM welcomes Zardari to Number 10

The PM has welcomed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to Number 10 for talks on a range of issues including counter-terrorism, development and education.

Following today’s meeting a Downing Street spokesman said that security in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained a high priority for both governments. The Prime Minister also reiterated the UK’s pledge to invest £665 million over four years in programmes aimed at tackling the root causes of extremism.

Following the meeting a Downing Street spokesman said:

“The Prime Minister and the President agreed the need to tackle the underlying causes of extremism. The Prime Minister reiterated our support for Pakistani efforts and repeated the UK’s commitment, £665 million over four years. Our development programme in Pakistan is our second largest in the world; we aim to spend around half of this in the critical border areas.

“This requires a comprehensive approach including better governance, economic development such as a single financing mechanism, and when necessary appropriate military pressure.

“There was discussion and support expressed for our education programme. A programme announced back in April that focuses on the border area of Pakistan. In particular we announced that we will provide textbooks in the border areas for school children and that we would support 300,000 girls from poor families attending secondary school. More does need to be done and we have asked our international partners to step up and do more and follow up on the Tokyo Donors’ Conference which delivered $5 billion of pledges over the next two years.”

PM praises “groundbreaking” swine flu service

A self-care service to help people with swine flu symptoms is “breaking new ground”, the Prime Minister has said.

The National Pandemic Flu Service, consisting of a new dedicated website and phone line, allows people to check their symptoms and, if necessary, get a unique number to allow them access to antivirals from a collection point.

* Visit the National Pandemic Flu Service website

Gordon Brown said the service was already working well to help people get advice as he met NHS staff in London today to hear how the capital is dealing with the outbreak.

He said:

“[The National Pandemic Flu Service] is the first in the world. We are breaking new ground here, but we have been preparing for this for more than two years and I think the evidence is that people are responding to the scheme… What I want to do is ensure that people get the best advice, get it as quickly as possible, are able to get the antivirals when they need them and are reassured.”

The Prime Minister added that he hoped the service would take some of the burden off GPs and hospitals, which have been seeing rising numbers of people reporting symptoms, and he praised NHS staff for their response to the outbreak.

He added:

“I don’t know if any health service in the world could do what we have been able to do so quickly as a result of efforts of all the staff.”

Read advice about swine flu from Directgov

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Prime Minister sets out blueprint for addressing global nuclear challenges

The Prime Minister today set out a number of wide-ranging measures to address the key nuclear challenges of the modern era and to lead international efforts to promote greater global nuclear security.

The Road to 2010 paper published today sets out an ambitious plan of action across the full range of global nuclear challenges - from establishing the right conditions for nuclear power to play its part in combating climate change, global poverty and energy shortages, to ensuring that nuclear material is held securely across the globe, to urgent action to address the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and progress in building the international partnerships we need to deliver a world free from nuclear weapons.

It sets out a detailed plan of action by the UK – in partnership with other countries – in the run up to next year when the world will gather to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Among the specific measures announced today are:

* A new Nuclear Centre of Excellence in the UK to promote wider access to civil nuclear power across the world, to make a reality of the right of all countries - enshrined in the NPT - to the peaceful use of nuclear power. It will promote the development of cost-effective civil nuclear technology which cannot be diverted for use in weapons programmes. This Centre, to be developed in partnership with industry and other countries, will receive initial funding of £20million from the Government.

* A renewed emphasis on nuclear security and preventing nuclear terrorism. In order to help reduce the risk that nuclear material will be lost or stolen, the Prime Minister has offered assistance to any nation with security improvements should they request our help, building on our long experience as a nuclear nation. The Road to 2010 also announces £3million of new funding for nuclear forensics work in the UK. This is part of a strategy to establish nuclear security as a new pillar of the global nuclear framework.

The Prime Minister said:

“The world needs a renewed global bargain for nuclear energy. We need this to make the world safer, more prosperous, and better able to combat climate change and to secure the energy supply we need.

We must seize the new momentum for meeting this challenge. Our Road to 2010 plan sets out an ambitious but achievable set of reforms across the entire nuclear question. Next year's Review Conference gives us the opportunity I want to renew and re-invigorate the bargain at the heart of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

For nuclear weapon states, this bargain means we have a responsibility to show leadership on the question of disarmament and being at the forefront of developing global solutions to allow wider and safe access to civil nuclear power. For non-nuclear weapon states the bargain means continuing to forego nuclear weapons, while accessing - if they wish - civil nuclear power.

Iran is a test case. The UK and the international community stand ready to help Iran achieve a peaceful civil nuclear programme. We make the same offer to Iran as to other countries - we will help you gain access to nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but we will do everything we can to prevent weapons proliferation. The new Centre of Excellence we are announcing today is proof of our intention to develop the science needed for the peaceful, proliferation-free expansion of nuclear power.

The world also needs to pay more attention to the challenge of nuclear security. Britain will play a leading role in this global effort. That is why today we are announcing further funding for our world-leading nuclear forensics work. Building on recent discussions at the G8, I am also calling on international partners to work with us to establish nuclear security as a new pillar of the international nuclear framework. A major milestone on the path to achieving this is President Obama’s nuclear security conference in March, and we will work with him and leaders across the globe to deliver on this agenda.”

Taken together, the measures announced today will help the UK to lead international efforts over the next 12 months and beyond in achieving material and sustainable global nuclear security.

The G8 Summit, from the PM

I have just returned from three days in Italy attending a successful G8 Summit and wanted to update you on some of the historic agreements we reached.

First, however, I must say how moved I was by the decision to hold the G8 in L'Aquila to show solidarity with the population of the region, which as you'll remember was severely hit by an earthquake in April.

At the summit, we discussed many issues, including the interrelated challenges of the economic crisis, poverty and climate change.

Our major breakthrough was agreement for the first time to cap global temperature rises by 2°C and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

This important deal, agreed on the first day, paves the way for a wider global agreement at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

Britain and the other major developed nations also pledged £12 billion for efforts to boost food supplies in the face of a looming hunger emergency.

The investment will fund a three-year initiative to help poorer nations develop their own agriculture, enabling them to become self-sufficient.

As President Obama said, the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed.

We have also agreed to a call from President Obama to hold talks in Washington next spring which could lead to countries reducing their nuclear arsenals.

Only collective action like this can increase the pressure on those states determined to develop nuclear weapons, such as Iran and North Korea.

As well as attending the main sessions at the summit, I also met with many important world leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon where we discussed the situation in Burma.

I hope you'll agree that these results prove that the world's major economies can make real achievements for everyone when we come together.

Gordon Brown