Washington  - President George W Bush assured his Dutch counterpart that the United States is serious about addressing climate change after a meeting of the two leaders Thursday at the White House.

Bush said he and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende held a "candid discussion" on the topic and said beating back global warming went "hand in hand" with US efforts to reduce its dependency on oil.

"We've developed a strategy to encourage the advent of new technologies that will change our habits (and) at the same time allow us to empower our economy in a way that will help us be good stewards of the environment," Bush said.

Bush also welcomed the continued Dutch troop contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The Netherlands is among the NATO countries helping fight the Taliban in the volatile southern provinces of the country.

Balkenende said it was "necessary to work together" to ensure success in Afghanistan and urged progress in the fight against global warming.

The US, unlike the European Union, has so far refused to adopt mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming, and Balkenende eluded to some of those disagreements in his remarks.

"Of course, when you're friends, sometimes there are issues you do not agree about. But because you have a friendship, then you can talk about finding solutions and talk about critical aspects," he said. (dpa)