Stronger US-Canada ties on menu for Trudeau-Obama talks

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Thursday to make it easier for their respective countries to trade and invest in one another, share more information about their respective no-fly lists to prevent the flow of foreign fighters and promote clean energy as a central focus of economic growth.

Obama and Trudeau spoke during a news conference after they met in the Oval Office, and after a welcoming ceremony at which the White House rolled out the red carpet for the first official visit in nearly two decades by a Canadian prime minister, a charismatic and youthful liberal leader intent on maintaining tight ties with the United States.

"We're woven together so deeply as societies, as economies, that it's sometimes easy to forget how truly remarkable our relationship is," Obama said.

Obama said the two leaders instructed aides to make it easier for goods and people to move back and forth between the two nation's borders. Trudeau said the two leaders made clear they both want a "clean-growth economy," and earlier in the day, they announced efforts to reduce methane emissions from gas and oil production.

"I'm confident that by working together, we'll get there sooner than we think," Trudeau said.

While the two leaders stressed how closely their nations are aligned, it also was clear they see similarities in each other.

"From my perspective, what's not to like?" Obama said of Trudeau.

Trudeau said he always is pleased to hear from Obama on how he's handled various difficult issues of the past. He said it is a great comfort to have advice from people one can trust and count on personally.

"He's a man of tremendous heart and tremendous intellect," Trudeau said.

Earlier in the day, Obama greeted Trudeau by emphasizing their nations are blessed to be neighbors with shared views on the importance of health care as a right for all and diversity as a sign of strength.

"We see ourselves in each other, guided by the same values," Obama said.

At the ornate arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed Trudeau, the 44-year-old son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and his wife, Sophie Gregoire.

The leaders found time for some levity before heading into an Oval Office meeting, with a state dinner to come in the evening.

The president hit on a topic of national pride for Canadians: hockey.

"Where's the Stanley Cup right now?" Obama joked, before answering his own question: The Chicago Blackhawks won it last season.

Trudeau tried to match Obama's trash talk, noting three of the Blackhawks' best players are from Canada.

The prime minister linked his agenda to the Obama administration's and said the two governments "share and are working on the exact same objectives."