Washington - US President George W Bush met with Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic on Thursday and assured him the United States was acting swifty to contain the economic damage caused by the finance crisis.

"I assured him that the United States will take strong action in dealing with the current economic situation," Bush said at the White House.

Bush met with Gasparovic ahead of a meeting in Washington on Friday of the finance ministers from the world's seven wealthiest democracies (G7). Bush plans to also meet with them on Saturday as the United States, Europe and Asia try to stave off further economic woes.

"I also talked about our common desire to work with our European friends to develop a best as possible common policy," Bush said during the meeting with Gasparovic.

Gasparovic said his government is also taking steps to protect the automotive industry in Slovenia from any fallout that could effect car exports.

"We will not likely be taking a direct hit from this financial crisis," Gasparovic said through a translator, adding his country can "mitigate many impacts of this crisis."

"On the other hand, Slovakia is the world's largest per capita car producer. This means that Slovakia's exports and foreign trade will suffer," he said. (dpa)