Obama Pledges Cooperation With Canada on Energy, Economy and War in Afghanistan

Feb. 19, 2009— -- It was a warm welcome for the president in the chilly white north.

Cheering crowds and 17 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police greeted President Obama as he arrived in Ottawa, Canada, on his first international trip since entering the White House.

The response was so positive he once accidentally almost referred to Ottawa as Iowa, the state where his presidential career took off 13 months ago. Canadian newspapers sang his praises, crowds lined the streets as the president made his way to Parliament Hill and locals screamed, "I love you," as Obama shopped for souvenirs at downtown Ottawa's Byward Market.

But at the Parliament House, where the president met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it was a more serious scene.

The leaders focused on three chief areas: the war in Afghanistan; energy and the environment; and trade and the economy. They agreed to cooperate on all of them.

"I came to Canada on my first trip as president to underscore the closeness and importance of the relationship between our two nations, and to re-affirm the commitment of the United States to work with friends and partners to meet the common challenges of our time," Obama said. "As neighbors, we are so closely linked that sometimes we may have a tendency to take our relationship for granted, but the very success of our friendship throughout history demands that we renew and deepen our cooperation here in the 21st century."

Harper echoed a similar sentiment.

"His election to the presidency launches a new chapter in the rich history of Canada-U.S. relations," the prime minister said. "It is a relationship between allies, partners, neighbors and the closest of friends, a relationship built on our shared values: freedom, democracy and equality of opportunity epitomized by the president himself."