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London: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown headed to the US for a four-day visit with an optimistic message claiming that coordinated efforts to shore up the world economy can reinforce ties between Europe and Washington that were frayed by the Iraq war.
Despite a gloomy financial outlook and domestic complaints over his response to the global credit crunch, Brown said he believes that London and Washington can enjoy a new decade of growth.
The British leader, who arrives in the US late Tuesday with his wife, Sarah, for his second visit there since replacing Tony Blair last June, is seeking to rekindle ties with Washington.
He offered praise for all three prospective presidential candidates before his visit, but specifically backed US Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plans on the economy.
After a first meeting with US President George W. Bush in July, Brown said he hopes he can help strengthen US and Europe ties, aiming to lead work on tackling spiraling food and fuel prices, reform global institutions and combat climate change.
I feel I can bring Europe and America closer together for the future,” Brown said, in an interview with CBS News broadcast on Tuesday.
"That will be to the advantage of all of us, to deal with economic problems, climate change and help make for a more peaceful world in the future. I see huge opportunities in the next few years for Europe and America to work more closely together.”
The men will hold White House talks, and a Rose Garden news conference, on Thursday, with the British leader eager to underline his enthusiasm for the US.
I’m very pro-American, and I’ve always been so,” Brown told CBS. Ours is a very special relationship. I feel that America and Britain can achieve so much in the next few years.”
Brown hopes to meet with John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and Democratic party rivals Barack Obama and Clinton in Washington on Thursday.
He praised McCain and Obama in his CBS News interview, but acknowledged he is a longtime ally of Clinton, saying she has made strong arguments on how to deal with the economic downturn.
It had been feared the Democratic contenders, due to debate in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, would fail to make the scheduled meetings. But Obama’s aides said he will fly from the debate to Washington to see Brown early Thursday.
Brown is due to attend a session at the United Nations on Wednesday, before a meeting with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a round of talks with officials on Wall Street.
The prime minister said he will use his visit to warn against protectionism in the US and call anew for international-level supervision of the financial markets.
But Brown said he is optimistic about the long-term financial prospects for both Britain and the US.
We’ll continue to lead the way, if we have confidence in our ability to create the next set of inventions, the new innovations of the future,” Brown said. I’m positive about the future. The world economy will grow a lot in the next 10 years, and America and Britain can have a very big lion’s share of that new wealth.”
Brown outlined some of his proposals for deepening trans-Atlantic cooperation on education, philanthropy, and cancer research, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal due to be published Wednesday.
In the article, Brown offered the use of Britain’s new Energy Technologies Institute to help the US grapple with the challenge of climate change, and said his government would work with private American bodies to promote the use of English across the globe.
In talks with Bush, the British leader will pledge not to immediately withdraw hundreds of troops from southern Iraq until local security forces show progress in driving out militias.
Brown said a plan to reduce British troop numbers from about 4,000 to 2,500 would remain on hold. The troop drawdown, which had been due to begin within weeks, was delayed following a recent spike in violence in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.
Brown will make a foreign policy speech on Friday at the Kennedy Library in Boston, before returning to London, his office said.
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