Obama, Sarkozy seek economic progress, cooperation

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to work closely to bolster the global economic recovery, during a meeting Monday at the White House.

Obama and Sarkozy sat down for talks as France assumes the presidencies of both the G8 group of the world’s largest developed economies and the G20. France will host summits of the two organizations later this year.

“Although we are in the process of healing and recovering from the disastrous recession that we went through, we’re not yet where we want to be,” Obama said in a brief appearance with Sarkozy.

Both leaders emphasized the need to correct imbalances in government fiscal policies through the world that hinders economic development.

“I am convinced … 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.

Obama and Sarkozy held a working lunch to include additional talks on the war in Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Middle East peace process and the political crisis in the Ivory Coast.

Sarkozy expressed his condolences for the shooting Saturday in Arizona, where six people were killed and 14 wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who appears to have been the target in the attack, in which she was shot in the head.