U.S. President George W. Bush urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday to accelerate efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth, while endorsing progress on Japan's reform efforts, a Japanese official said.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit of major powers at the Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, Canada. The summit is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

On noneconomic issues, Koizumi was quoted as praising Bush for his recent speech on a new Middle East policy and saying he wants to further strengthen bilateral ties due to the importance of solidarity in the international community on fighting terrorism.

Koizumi told Bush his structural reform efforts have been bearing fruit and the disposal of nonperforming loans at Japanese banks is progressing well, the official said.