WASHINGTON (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron praised US President Barack Obama on Wednesday for resetting “the moral authority of the entire free world” in a glowing tribute at a state dinner.

Obama, at the end of a day celebrating a close personal friendship and national alliance, meanwhile praised Cameron and wife Samantha for their courage after losing a young son, Ivan, to cerebral palsy and epilepsy in 2009.

“There are three things about Barack that really stand out for me — strength, moral authority and wisdom,” Cameron said late Wednesday.

“Strength, because Barack has been strong when required to defend his national interests. Under President Obama’s leadership American got Bin Laden,” he said.

“He has pressed the reset button on the moral authority of the entire free world,” Cameron said.

“Barack, it is an honor to call you an ally, a partner and a friend,” Cameron said, in remarks from a Conservative prime minister to a liberal US president that have a clear political context in a presidential election year.

Obama said that he had learned during a day of meetings on Wednesday that Cameron was “just the kind of partner you want at your side.”

“I trust him. He says what he does and he does what he says. I’ve seen his character. I’ve seen his commitment to human dignity during Libya.”

“I will say something else David, all of us have seen how you as a parent, along with Samantha, have shown a measure of strength that few of us will ever know,” he said referring to the Cameron’s deceased eldest son, six-year-old Ivan.