It's About Time, Eh?': Obama Welcomes Canada's PM

BY elo Frank 

Obama Welcomes Trudeau to White House - NBC News

Joking about which country has the best beer and hockey team, President Obama welcomes Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are promising to make it easier for their respective countries to trade and invest in one another, share more information to prevent the flow of foreign fighters and promote clean energy as a central focus of economic growth.

Obama and Trudeau held a news conference after a meeting in the Oval Office that followed a welcoming ceremony where the White House rolled out the red carpet Thursday 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.

"Were woven together so deeply as societies, as economies, that it's sometimes easy to forget how truly remarkable our relationship is," Obama said, adding that he and Trudeau have a common outlook on what the two nations can achieve together.

MICHAEL REYNOLDS

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 10, 2016.

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 focused on their shared desire to curb global warming. He said they both want a "clean-growth economy."

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

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

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