Obama, Australia's Rudd to discuss climate, Afghan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and U.S. President Barack Obama will discuss next week issues including Afghanistan and climate change, the White House said on Friday.
The two leaders will meet at the White House on Monday, a day before Obama is to outline a revised war strategy for Afghanistan.
The centerpiece of his plan is expected to be the gradual deployment of about 30,000 more U.S. troops to secure population centers and train Afghan security forces.
Australia, a close U.S. ally, was one of the first countries to commit troops to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, where is has about 1,500 troops.
Australia has pledged to cut greenhouse emissions by between 5 and 25 percent by 2020, and Rudd's government has been pushing to pass a sweeping carbon trade scheme.
In its statement, the White House said Obama and Rudd would discuss climate change in the run-up to the December 7-18 meeting in Copenhagen on a new global climate deal.
The United States on Wednesday unveiled its proposal to cut greenhouse gases roughly 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and said Obama would go to the talks on December 9.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
