WASHINGTON (AFP) — Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and an ex-Republican lawmaker on Saturday stood in for president-elect Barack Obama in meeting world leaders attending the G20 summit on the economic crisis.
Obama himself stayed away from the Washington summit of the Group of 20 biggest economies, but foreign delegations have been keen to open channels to the Democrat succeeding President George W. Bush next January 20.
Albright and former Iowa congressman Jim Leach said in a statement that they “held constructive meetings on behalf of president-elect Obama and vice president-elect (Joseph) Biden” with delegations from 15 countries plus the European Commission, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
They included leaders, finance ministers or top bureaucrats from Brazil, Britain, China, Germany, Japan and Russia, among others. They spoke with the French delegation by telephone.
Albright and Leach said Obama saw the summit as “an important opportunity to seek a coordinated response to the global financial crisis.”
“We also conveyed president-elect Obama’s determination to continuing to work together on these challenges after he takes office in January,” they said, adding that they would brief Obama and Biden at the conclusion of their meetings.
Source: www.google.com/hostednews/afp, 16 November 2008