Chicago: President-elect Barack Obama accepted congratulations from nine presidents and prime ministers, returning calls from world leaders who reached out after his presidential victory.

The global financial crisis was among the topics Obama discussed with key US allies he'll deal with during his administration.

Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the president- elect spoke to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Sarkozy's office said they spoke for 30 minutes and characterised the discussion as "extremely warm" as the president congratulated Obama on a "brilliant" election victory. The statement said they discussed international issues, particularly the financial crisis, and agreed to meet in the "quite near future."

Harper's office said in a statement that they spoke about an international financial summit in Washington on November 15 and its importance for addressing the global financial crisis. Obama had no plans to attend the meeting.

The prime minister's office said the two leaders emphasised that there could be no closer friends and allies than the US and Canada and vowed to maintain and further build upon the relationship. Harper's office called it a warm exchange and said they agreed to talk again soon.
Source : PTI