SG: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Thank you for your hospitality. I highly value this opportunity of having discussions on matters of our common concern during my brief visit to the United Kingdom. It has always been a great pleasure and privilege for me to work together with you in addressing many difficult challenges facing this world.

I have just come from Kabul after having met my staff in Afghanistan. Also, I had very good meetings with President Karzai, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and other core diplomatic members there. I thank you very much for your condolences on the death of our UN staff by heinous terrorist attacks. Your support and condolence was a source of great encouragement for us. We appreciate also your contribution and initiative in bringing peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. I highly admire the sacrifices and noble efforts of the United Kingdom's men and women who have been working in very difficult and dangerous situations. Your support will be a great contribution in our common efforts to bring peace and stability.

I have discussed with President Karzai what the international community and United Nations would expect now he has been confirmed as the winner of this election. Now, while he is going to lead his country as a second term president, I urged him to take all necessary measures. First of all, to meet the expectations of the Afghan people, and the international community which has been making a great contribution and giving assistance, expecting that Afghan people can enjoy genuine freedom, democracy, stability and prosperity. That includes ensuring good governance, including the eradication of corruptive practices prevalent in Afghanistan, controlling drug trafficking and forming a unity government with experienced ministers and government officials, reaching out to all the ethnic groups, all people, and political and religious leaders. I have specifically asked President Karzai to work together with all his political leaders who were presidential candidates, including Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

I also met Dr Abdullah Abdullah and asked him to act as a responsible political leader, who has gained more than 30% of the Afghan popular vote. I expect the Afghan government led by President Karzai will enhance their good performance. On that basis, I am sure the United Nations, together with all members of the international community, will stand by in helping the Afghan people and government to bring peace, stability and prosperity. The United Nations will continue, despite this heinous terrorist attack, to support Afghanistan's people and government. We cannot and will not be deterred. We will continue and I thank you very much for your support.

As the Prime Minister said, we discussed climate change. We are going through a crucially important period for the whole of humanity. We must have a comprehensive, binding agreement in Copenhagen in December. For that to be possible, I have been very closely working together with Prime Minister Rasmussen, [who will hold the presidency] of the Copenhagen meeting. We have been engaged in talking to many world leaders, and I appreciate Prime Minister Gordon Brown's initiative for this climate-change funding. I am glad and encouraged that the European Union leaders had a very good summit meeting last week, and recognised the importance of this climate-change financing support and technological support.

The developed countries should come out with ambitious targets for greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. We must be able to have an agreement where all the countries should participate with the clear vision that all the countries should work for the long-term goal to save this planet from climate change. I will continue to work together with the members of the international community. I particularly expect Prime Minister Gordon Brown to continue to lead this initiative. We discussed the Millennium Development Goals Summit Meeting. Next year will be the year when we will have only five years more to go. Thus, the United Nations General Assembly is going to hold a summit meeting in September next year. I have asked Prime Minister Gordon Brown to work [in the Leader's group], and I am very happy that he agreed, and I appreciate his championing role to meet the targets of the MDGs.

We also discussed how we can reduce the maternal mortality rate, which is the slowest moving pillar among the MDGs, and I appreciate that the Prime Minister, and particularly Mrs Sarah Brown, who has been taking a leadership role initiative on this issue. We are going to work together. I am doing my best efforts to raise awareness, trying to first of all raise the political will, as well as mobilising necessary funding to reduce the maternal rate. This will be one of the key pillars which I will continue to devote next year, as we prepare for the MDG summit meeting next year. The industrialised countries should come out with the vision to meet the requirement of 0.7% of GNI by 2015. I also appreciate the United Kingdom's initiative and leadership role in realising a world free from nuclear threat, and I appreciate the UK's vision in 'Road to 2010', and your initiative in working together with major countries like the United States on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. I will continue my good office's role in bringing full democratisation in Myanmar, so that we will be able to see a transparent, inclusive, and credible election, to be carried out with all the political leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi released. I will continue my efforts. Thank you very much.

Q: Prime Minister, Secretary-General: President Karzai has said in Kabul this morning that there is a need to clean the stain of corruption from the government. President Obama has made clear that it is deeds, not words, that matter, and President Karzai has said similar things in the past. What is the minimum that is actually necessary? Does there need now to be arrests of corrupt officials, and wholesale clearouts of rotten ministries and departments? Will you both consider withholding money from specific ministries and from specific development programmes if you do not see the progress that is necessary?

SG: This has been always a top priority agenda, whenever and wherever I have been meeting with President Karzai. Yesterday I had an in-depth discussion and I urged President Karzai that now that he is confirmed for the second term of presidency, ensuring good governance, including eradicating corrupt practices, should be the top priority for his new government. That will be the key to earning the confidence and trust of the international community, including the United Nations. He said he would do his best to ensure good governance on this issue. I hope that his commitment will be translated into concrete action.

Q: Secretary-General, how optimistic are you now that there is a realistic chance of a binding pact being agreed at Copenhagen? If not, how quickly do you see that process being concluded into next year?

SG: We will continue, together with the world leaders and particularly key developed countries and key major emerging economies, so that we can have a comprehensive, balanced, equitable and binding agreement in December this year. I have been engaging with many world leaders as the Prime Minister has also been doing. I have been constantly engaging with Prime Minister Rasmussen and other core leaders who can make a great contribution to this. It is very important that all the countries, commensurate with their capabilities, come on board on this, both the developed and developing countries.

First and foremost, the developed countries should lead this campaign, considering all their historical responsibilities, and also considering that they are the countries who have most of the capacities, financial and technological. Now, we need at this time more than that, we need political will. If there is political will, I am sure that there is a way we can conclude a binding agreement in Copenhagen. We will continue until such a time. I am reasonably optimistic that Copenhagen will be a very important milestone. At the same time, realistically speaking, we may not be able to have all the words on detailed matters.

What we expect is that on four elements, like ambitious mid-term targets by developed countries, together with developing countries, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, together with a strong adaptation package for the most vulnerable countries, and thirdly financial support and technological support by the industrialised countries for developing countries and equitable global governance to manage these systems and support. If we can have some political agreement on this, we can reasonably put a benchmark for success of Copenhagen. We will continue to do that.

Q: Secretary-General, how important to you will it be to have an EU president to turn to and how important will it be to have somebody of Mr Blair's stature in that role?

SG: The European Union has been a strong partner of the United Nations in major goals and ideas of the United Nations: peace and security, development and human rights, and I highly appreciate the European Union's initiatives and commitment and co-operation. I have been closely following all this process of integration of the European Union. Now that it's going to have a further integration in terms of institutions and in relation to all this political and economic integration, it's going to be a very exciting period for the European Union and I wish all the process will be carried out smoothly, as soon as possible, and whoever will be elected as President of the European Union, I'll be most happy and always be prepared to work very closely in addressing common goals and addressing these major challenges which we are facing. We need strong support and strong participation and strong co-operation from the European Union. Thank you very much.