Their clothes were a perfectly matched set. He wore a dark suit and baby-blue tie; she wore a baby-pink pantsuit.
Their rhetoric matched as well. The "special relationship" endures.
William Hague, the new British foreign secretary, called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday just days after his country's new Conservative-led coalition government took power. The British are an essential ally in virtually every American project overseas -- such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the drive for sanctions against Iran -- and so both sides were eager to take stock of each other.
And while ousted prime minister Gordon Brown never seemed to find his footing with President Obama, Hague's predecessor, David Miliband, got along famously with Clinton, making a good first impression at the State Department even more important for the new government.
Hague, once the Conservative Party's leader before being replaced by the younger David Cameron, was unstinting in his praise for a woman who turned to foreign policy after losing her party's nomination to a younger man.
"I'm aware, coming into this job, that the challenges of foreign policy are uniquely tricky, and that is why I've always had such huge admiration for Secretary Clinton," he told reporters, calling her "an inspiring example to other foreign ministers and would-be foreign ministers around the world, and I pay tribute to her for that."
Clinton flashed a wry smile.
Within British political circles, a constant topic of discussion is the relevance of the singular transatlantic tie that has endured since World War II. Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, was ridiculed as a "poodle" for his fervent support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But Obama seemed to elevate the concept this week, declaring after Cameron became prime minister that the United States and Britain have an "extraordinary special relationship."
Hague was eager to embrace Obama's language.
"We're very happy to accept that description and to agree with that description," he told reporters. "The United States is without doubt the most important ally of the United Kingdom. . . . It's not a backward-looking or nostalgic relationship. It is one looking to the future."
Hague stressed that, notwithstanding the new -- and for Britain, unusual -- coalition government, his country's main policies remain unchanged. Speaking of the push to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, Hague was emphatic. "I'm not looking for differences with previous British administrations," he said. "We supported the efforts of the outgoing Labor government, working with the United States on this subject."
Clinton took a tough line on Iran at the news conference. "We are making progress every day" on a new U.N. sanctions resolution, she said. She came close to ridiculing Brazilian President Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva's plan to try to strike a deal in Tehran this weekend, saying an exchange between Lula and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday "illustrated the hill that the Brazilians are attempting to climb."
Medvedev, saying he was being an optimist, gave Lula only a 30 percent chance of success. Lula replied that he "would give 9.9" on a scale of 1 to 10. Clinton didn't give odds, but she clearly thought they were nonexistent.
"I have told my counterparts in many capitals around the world that I believe that we will not get any serious response out of the Iranians until after the Security Council acts," she said.
Hague nodded repeatedly as Clinton spoke. He was also given a quick lesson in diplomacy with the United States, which is that nearly every question is directed to the secretary of state.
"Thank you very much," Clinton said, ending the session with reporters.
"Thank you very much, indeed," Hague echoed.
William Hague and Hillary Clinton meet for the first time since the UK election last week
British Foreign Secretary William Hague travelled to Washington, D.C. on Friday to meet his opposite number, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time since the election ten days ago and the formation of a coalition government six days later.

Hague, who was leader of the UK's  between 1997 and 2001, travelled to the United States in his first overseas visit in his capacity as foreign secretary almost as soon as his appointment to the post was confirmed and was keen to point out that US President Barack Obama had been the first foregin leader to telephone David Cameron and congratulate him upon becoming UK Prime Minister and that the promptness of his visit was intended "to show we reciprocate that warmth" shown by the US to the new coalition government.

Clinton told Hague that she was "enthusiastic" about the new coalition government on the UK and the "chemistry" between Cameron and his  deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. The talks focused on the major foreign policy concerns shared by both countries, such as Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle-East and the pair ended the subsequent press conference by expressing their unity on those issues, particularly on further UN sanctions against Iran and on the ongoing campaign in .

Clinton, who ran against Obama in the Democratic Party's primaries during the 2008 presidential election, was at pains to emphasise that any future disharmony in the  coalition government would not affect US–UK relations, nor the ability of the US to rely on the UK as partner in the future. Comparing the two political systems, Clinton said "We don't formally have a coalition government in the way that you have formed one in the UK now, but we have enough of our own internal differences that we have to sort through."

Hague insisted that he intended to take a more relaxed approach to relations with the US than those of his  predecessors, adding that "everything I've said today about our approach to relations with the United States is an approach shared by the whole cabinet and I'm speaking on behalf of a united government".            

Cameron and Obama are scheduled to meet in person at next month's G20 meeting in Canada.