Obama Holds Calls With Nine Allies

On 6 November, the President-elect Barack Obama held calls with nine leaders allied to the U.S., thanking them for their congratulations and discussing many international concerns, including the global financial crisis.

Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for Obama, reports that Obama spoke with Australian Prime Minister Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, French President Sarkozy, German Chancellor Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Mexican President Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and English Prime Minister Brown.

According to the Associated Press, these nine presidents and prime ministers are “key global allies”. At this point, Obama is trying to speed up the smooth facilitation of the transition of power. He will hold a press conference on the 8 November to introduce the progress he is making. Analysts say that communication with allies is key for the President-elect.

Obama spent around ten minutes each with Japanese Prime minister Taro Aso and Korean president Lee Myung-Bak.

Aso emphasized strengthening Japanese-American relationships as the principal Japanese diplomatic priority. Obama agreed to work toward this and suggested developing a personal relationship between himself and Aso.

Obama thanked the Japanese people for their support, saying that he knew about the story of ‘Obama for Obama’. The Japanese town of Obama supported him because of their shared name, and the locals celebrated Obama’s victory with traditional dances.

During his call to Lee Myung-Bak, Obama promised to work with him on concerns such as the financial crisis and the Korean peninsula nuclear issue. According to Korean spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, the talks were very direct and most of the time no translators were needed. Obama called the Korean-American alliance the cornerstone of peace and stability in Asia.

Obama said that he likes Korean barbeque and kimchi very much, and that he is familiar with Korean culture. This was a surprise to Lee Myung-Bak. The same day, he told the visiting former Secretary of States Powell that he had thought that Obama did not know much about Korea.

Obama discussed with Prime Minister Rudd such issues as global warming, etc. Rudd speaks very highly of Obama, saying that he brings for America a “messages of hope.”

In talks with Sarkozy, Brown and Merkel, Obama talked about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear program, as well as the financial crisis.

According to a statement released by the office of the French president, Obama and Sarkozy spent 30 minutes on the phone, and that the conversation was “extremely warm.” The two focused on the financial crisis, and agreed to meet in person in the near future.

The office of the English Prime Minister said that Brown and Obama conducted a “friendly and positive” conversation, touching upon topics such as the world economy, the state of affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the progression of peace in the Middle East, etc.

Harper’s office stated that the discussion was cordial and warm, and that as neighbouring countries, the U.S. and Canada will continue to develop the long tradition of friendship between the countries.

Obama’s conversation with Calderon highlighted the issue of drug cartels and organized crimes. He said that he understands the difficulty of the situation and that the U.S. will offer wholehearted support.

During his talks with Olmert, Obama promised to advance the peace process in the Middle East. Olmert’s office released a short statement saying that the two agreed to a solid friendship to “safeguard the safety of Israel”.