Sydney - US President George W Bush was described as "upbeat and full of life" Wednesday ahead of a meeting in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the announcement of even closer military ties between the two staunch allies and formal defence partners. Bush was the first of 21 leaders to arrive in Sydney for an Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit where climate change and free trade are key issues.
Before leaving on Saturday the president is expected to have held private talks with the leaders of Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia and possibly Indonesia.
During a day in Sydney with Howard, whom he has described as "a man of steel" for committing Australian troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush is expected to declare that close ties will outlast a strong personal friendship with "best mate" Howard.
"This is an alliance that is forged through hard work together," Bush was quoted as saying by an Australian reporter travelling on Air Force One.
"It will survive, it will leap individuals. There have been different individuals from different parties and different histories yet the alliance has already remained strong."
Howard is way behind in the opinion polls ahead of a general election expected in November.
Opposition Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd looks set to win the poll and unseat Howard's 11-year-old conservative government.
Howard, who happened to be in Washington at the time of the terrorist strikes in 2001, invoked the 50-year-old defence alliance and committed troops to Afghanistan.
He also provided Australian troops for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has kept 1,500 of them there despite strong public pressure to bring them home.
Bush, who is accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is expected to sign an agreement giving Australia greater access to US military intelligence and military hardware.
Bush arrived in Sydney from Iraq, where he flagged the possibility of drawing down some of the 160,000 US troops stationed there.
Howard was immediately asked whether Australian troops in Iraq would be withdrawn.
"The precondition that I have always set is that the Iraqis are reasonably able to look after themselves," Howard, 68, told reporters. "I have never said as a precondition that there should absolutely be no violence. That would be an unreasonable aspiration."
Bush will hold his first meeting with Rudd on Thursday, hoping to change the Mandarin-speaking former diplomat's mind about withdrawing Australian troops if he is elected to office later this year.
Rudd, 49, has been at pains to declare his commitment to the US alliance.
"When it comes to the overall relationship with the United States, I am a life-long supporter of our alliance with the United States - that has not budged one bit and never has budged one bit," Rudd said.
Bush, who is making his first visit to Sydney, was described by Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, who met him at the airport late Tuesday, as "upbeat and full of life" as he arrived for his seventh annual APEC leaders' meeting.
