FACTBOX-Obama's presidential debut on world stage

Published: 30 Mar 2009 23:35:18 PST

March 31 - U.S. President Barack Obama will make his debut on the world stage this week with his first major foreign trip since taking office on Jan. 20.

Here are some details of his travels and his objectives for each leg:

G20 SUMMIT - LONDON

Obama's first stop: an April 2 summit of the Group of 20 top economies, a follow-up to a meeting hosted by predecessor George W. Bush, to tackle the global economic crisis. [nSP373479]

Obama, who has pledged to repair America's image abroad after eight contentious years under Bush, will set the tone for his administration's relations with the rest of the world even as he is tested in his first encounter with global summitry.

He "is going to listen in London, as well as to lead," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

In the final run-up to the trip, Obama's aides seemed to back away from earlier calls for other G20 countries to act quickly to ramp up spending to match the United States. The White House said Obama would not seek specific commitments.

European leaders, reluctant to build up more debt, already spurned the idea and made clear they wanted to make a top priority of overhauling global financial regulations.

Obama told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview published on Sunday that his objective for the G20 summit was to get the leaders to take a "robust approach to stimulus," deal with toxic assets in the financial system and agree on regulatory reform to keep such a crisis from occurring again.

"The most important task for all of us is to deliver a strong message of unity in the face of crisis," Obama said.

Obama will meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday. Talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be watched for how he handles two world powers whose relations with Washington have often been tense.

He sees Saudi King Abdullah, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday.

NATO SUMMIT - FRENCH-GERMAN BORDER

Obama will attend NATO's 60th anniversary summit on April 3-4, split between Strasbourg in France and Kehl in Germany.

He will push his new war strategy for Afghanistan, which calls for expansion of U.S. forces and for NATO allies to do more to secure the coming election and train army and police. [SP437509]

He will face resistance if he presses too hard on partners like Germany, which is reluctant to put forces in harm's way, so is likely to tread gently.

Obama is also expected to take a more cautious stance than Bush on future NATO expansion to former Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia opposes. And he will take a stand-back approach on a proposed missile shield, which strained Russia's relations with the Bush administration. [nLM698391]

He will explain his offer of diplomatic engagement with Iran while asking allies to keep pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. [nN27544574] Obama also holds talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

EU SUMMIT - PRAGUE

Obama will attend a summit between the United States and the 27-member European Union in Prague on April 5.

He pivot backs to the financial crisis during his stay in the Czech Republic, which holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

Obama is also expected to show European leaders, who always felt slighted by Bush on climate change, a more cooperative attitude toward combatting global warming.

Security will also figure into Obama's agenda, with the Czechs looking for signs on whether he is serious about the missile defense system, part of which would be based there. Energy issues -- in particular, Europe's dependence on Russian supplies -- and Iran will also be on his list of concerns.

TURKEY VISIT

Obama will make a two-day trip to Turkey, a key NATO ally, making good on a promise to visit a large Muslim country early in his term. The White House says, however, this is not the venue for his promised address to the Muslim world, which is planned for later.

With stops planned in Ankara and Istanbul, as well as talks with the country's leadership, Obama is expected to lend support to Turkey's rocky efforts to gain EU membership.

He will also encourage Turkey's role hosting Israeli-Syrian peace efforts. Obama has vowed more sustained engagement in Middle East diplomacy than Bush, who was widely criticized in the region for neglecting the long-running conflict.