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Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the recession and the effect of worldwide stimulus spending when meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, during a brief, but productive session at the White House.

The two leaders met for more than an hour on Wednesday morning, with the session wrapping up shortly before noon, when Harper and Obama took questions from reporters.

Harper and Obama also discussed energy, security and trade issues, though there was no question that the economy was a top issue -- and will continue to be at the upcoming G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

"We both agree that although we are not out of the woods yet, that we have seen signs of stability and that both Canada and the U.S. are on the way to positive economic growth," Obama told reporters following the meeting.

"The recovery is happening, but it is fragile and we really must redouble our efforts to apply stimulus measures, to get those out the door as we are doing in Canada," Harper said.

The prime minister also said the two countries had reached a tentative agreement on airline charter prohibitions that had hampered travelling arrangements for various professional sports teams. He did not provide further details.

CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said the tentative deal will help the upcoming NHL season when hockey teams are flying from city to city in both Canada and the U.S.

"There was a breakthrough today," Fife explained to Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Wednesday afternoon.

"It looks like they've come up with a deal now, so that both countries, our hockey players can go back and forth...so that's a pretty big breakthrough as the hockey season approaches."

At the same session with reporters, Obama described Harper as "an outstanding partner to the United States."

The prime minister will remain in Washington until Thursday, when he will voice his concerns about trade protectionism on Capitol Hill.

Afghanistan

Harper and Obama acknowledged that they had also discussed the war in Afghanistan during their meeting.

The prime minister said he supported Obama's policy of further increasing the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- a strategy that has been questioned by members of the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. president has put 21,000 additional troops in Afghanistan since taking office, but Obama said no decision had been made on whether he will send additional Americans into service in the war-torn country.

"I'm going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions," Obama said.

"And so I just want to absolutely clear, because there's been a lot of discussion in the press about this: There is no immediate decision pending on resources," he added.

The U.S. president also said the overall Afghan mission has lacked a clear strategy for destroying al Qaeda.

Earlier Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the prime minister would be firm about Canada's intention to withdraw in Afghanistan in 2011, if questioned about the issue.

"Our military combat presence will end by 2011, as was stipulated by the independent panel review that took place a year and half ago, and that...a majority of parliamentarians decided to accept," Cannon said during an interview from Washington, where he had accompanied the prime minister on his trip.

Cannon, along with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, will each take part in meetings with their U.S. counterparts while in Washington.

Good PR?

While the prime minister and U.S. president met at the White House, three animal rights activists held a protest in front of the Canadian embassy.

The protesters were dressed as seals and their costumes were streaked with red paint to represent blood. They crawled onto Pennsylvania Avenue and began to block traffic. When they refused to leave, U.S. Secret Service officers handcuffed and hauled them off the road.

Fife said the mid-September meeting between Harper and Obama is a boon for the prime minister, who will benefit from the good publicity.

"It's a bit of a gift in a way, because it looked like Canada was going to be facing a general election," Fife told CTV's Canada AM from Washington early on Wednesday morning.

"And the fact that the prime minister was going to be meeting and having a nice photo opportunity with the president, who is very popular in Canada, I think was a gift to Mr. Harper in case there was an election campaign -- and I think that shows a sign that there is a good relationship between the two men.

Chris Sands, an expert in U.S.-Canada relations, said that the U.S. president is keen to keep America in good standing with it allies.

The fact that Harper is being invited for a face-to-face meeting will send a signal to Canadians that he is on top of the file involving Canada's largest trading partner.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press