"And the fact that I am asking my vice president to personally lead this effort shows how important it is for our country and our future to get this right, " he said.

"We may not like them, " he is reported to have told James Steinberg, deputy US secretary of state, but "they are a neighbour".

But I have a breakfast meeting with the VP tomorrow.

She says the budget for these initiatives has gone up in her two years as Under Secretary of State but she would like to have even more funding for more work.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know that, in your President, in your Vice President, in your Minister of Health, and in your Government, you have leaders dedicated to making your lives better.