Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/australian-prime-minister-rudd-discusses-global-economy-war-in-afghanistan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week to discuss the global economic crisis and military strategy in Afghanistan. Rudd offers his take on these issues in an interview with Jim Lehrer. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. SPENCER MICHELS, NewsHour Correspondent: On his way to the G-20 summit in London, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came through Washington, just as President Obama was pushing a global stimulus for the ailing world economy and putting the finishing touches on a new strategy for Afghanistan.BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States: There are very few countries that are closer than the United States and Australia. SPENCER MICHELS: Before an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office yesterday, the two leaders emphasized their backing for a global stimulus, which many European allies oppose. BARACK OBAMA: It's going to be important for the relatively wealthy nations like ours to take leadership in assuring that we don't see a continued downward spiral. SPENCER MICHELS: Later at his news conference, President Obama referred to the Australian leader. BARACK OBAMA: I was with Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia, today, who was very forceful in suggesting that countries around the world, those with the capacity to do so, take the steps that are needed to fill this enormous hole in global demand. SPENCER MICHELS: Australia, home to 21 million people, has been a key U.S. ally in the Pacific since World War II. Rudd and his Social Democratic Labor Party won parliamentary elections in November 2007, turning out John Howard, a stalwart backer of President Bush.A career diplomat, Rudd has served in China and speaks fluent Mandarin. China is now the largest trading partner for mineral-rich Australia.Rudd fulfilled a campaign promise to withdraw Australia troops from Iraq, but he has kept nearly 1,000 Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan. Australia has lost 10 soldiers in Afghanistan, two of them last week. A recent newspaper poll showed 65 percent of Australians opposed to sending more troops.In Washington, Rudd has limited his comments on Afghanistan to the principle that the nation should not become, once again, a haven for terrorists.On the eve of his visit, Rudd said that Australia, which had avoided the global recession, will probably see its economy shrink in the coming year.