Obama, Australian PM stress cooperation to counter IS

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the White House on Tuesday, emphasizing the cooperation between the allies in the fight against the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

"I'm very much looking forward to hearing from Malcolm (Turnbull) his impressions about how we can continue to focus on what we call the parent tumor of ISIL in Iraq and Syria," Obama said before the bilateral meeting with Turnbull, using an alternate acronym of IS.

Obama hailed the "remarkable contribution" and sacrifices Australia has made in Afghanistan and Iraq, noting that the friendship between the two countries is based on "an extraordinary affinity and shared values".

"We have to constantly lift our game in the way we engage with and tackle these extremists, particularly ISIL," Turnbull said.

The Australian prime minister also congratulated Obama on the completion of the Iran nuclear deal, calling it "a formidable effort,"

The two leaders also talked about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

"We are both part of the driving force that created this rules-based system that is now being prepared to ratify among the various nations," Obama said.

In his State of the Union address last week, Obama urged Congress to approve the controversial trade deal as quickly as possible, in a bid to widen his country's influence in Asia and ability to set regional rules. Endit