President Bush and the leader of Romania pledged on Wednesday to strengthen economic and military ties, help stabilize Iraq

President Bush and the leader of Romania pledged on Wednesday to strengthen economic and military ties, help stabilize Iraq and — on a political note — win their respective elections this fall. "We talked about the need to continue to work together to spread freedom and, therefore, peace in troubled parts of the world," Bush said during an Oval Office meeting with Adrian Nastase, prime minister of Romania, which joined NATO this year and has 700 troops and civilian contractors in Iraq. Nastase, who strongly backs the U.S. call for other nations' involvement in Iraq, said: "Reconstruction, stabilization, political development are the key words for the future of Iraq, and we want to encourage the Iraqi people to take the ownership of their own choices." On trade, Nastase asked Bush to spread the word that "Romania is a good place to invest." Bush told him that economic relations will improve as market conditions improve in Romania. "American businesses look for places to invest capital where they can get a reasonable rate of return," Bush said. "American businesses like environments where there's transparency and strong anti-corruption rules, where the work force is well-educated and hardworking. ... He said he's had some good visits with business leaders here in America."