The presidents of France and the United States have pledged to imply joint efforts to continue restoring the global economy within the frames of the G8 and G20 world groups of most industrialized nations.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is currently on an official visit to the United States.
"I've always been a great friend, a tremendous friend of the United States, and I know how important a role the U.S. plays in the world, how important the U.S. dollar is as the world's number one currency. And with [U.S. President] Barack Obama, we are determined to propose new ideas to get things moving, both within the framework of the G8 and the G20," Sarkozy said at a joint news conference with Obama.
France is currently holding the rotating chair in the G8 and G20 groups.
"And our teams are going to be working very hard together to come up with common papers and common positions on the issues which are of interest and which come within the agreement of the G20, such as the matter of currencies, of commodity prices, and all that needs to be done in order to reduce the current and present imbalances," Sarkozy added.
The French president also thanked his U.S. counterpart for the warm reception adding that he always admired Obama's "ability to get to the fundamentals, the root of issues."
"I appreciate his openness, the way he speaks very frankly about things with me. And I am convinced, ladies and gentlemen, that in 2011, we will be able to come up with the structural solutions that will enable us to settle or at least to tackle the world's imbalances and problems," Sarkozy said.
President Obama has confirmed that the talks with his French counterpart focused on the global economy.
"We spent the initial part of this meeting discussing the G8 and G20 agenda... with the French in the lead both at the G8 and the G20 this year, we discussed how we can coordinate our agendas to make sure that we are as productive as possible in delivering the kinds of reforms and follow-through that will result in prosperity for peoples around the globe," he said.
The U.S. president also stressed the importance of the friendship between the United States and France and wished the French people a Happy New Year.
"So I just want to say how much I appreciate not only Nicolas's friendship but also his leadership... And on behalf of the American people, we want to again express our friendship to the French people and wish everybody in your country a happy new year," Obama said.
WASHINGTON, January 11 (RIA Novosti)
