Following Obama meeting, France's Hollande promises different approach to Afghan aid Obama is scheduled to head to Camp David on Friday evening to welcome the leaders of eight of the world's richest countries, including Hollande, for the Group of Eight summit this weekend. In brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Hollande said he was committed to providing assistance to Afghan security but through alternative means. He added that he would discuss the subject further at the NATO summit in Chicago, which begins Sunday. "I reminded President Obama that I made a promise to the French people to the effect that our combat troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2012," Hollande said. That being said, we will continue to support Afghanistan in a different way. We'll seek a different format. And all of that will be done with good understanding with our allies. In past comments, Hollande at first said he would withdraw all the 3,400 French military personnel, but later specified he would pull out only combatants. Obama has said U.S. troops will be removed from Afghanistan by 2014, and he said Friday that he and Hollande agreed that "even as we transition out of a combat phase in Afghanistan that it's important that we sustain our commitment to helping Afghans build security and continue down the path of development." Hollande also said Friday that he and Obama "shared views" about Iran and would "start a conversation." Regarding the European economic crisis, Hollande said he and Obama agreed that Greece, despite its financial meltdown, "must stay in the euro zone, and that all of us must do what we can to that effect." "We wanted to send a message to that effect to the Greek people," Hollande said. Our economies depend on one another. What happens in Europe has an impact on the U.S. and vice versa. So we are related, and the more coherent we are, the more efficient we can be. Before meeting with Hollande, Obama outlined new steps in the global effort to reduce hunger, announcing $3 billion in private sector commitments to help improve food security efforts in several African nations. In a speech at the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security in Washington, Obama said the pledges from 45 multinational corporations and African companies aimed to build on the $22 billion that members of the Group of Eight nations committed at a 2009 summit in L'Aquila, Italy. The president said that although portions of the continent are growing rapidly through significant economic investment, other parts have suffered through famine and drought. As the world's wealthiest nation, Obama added, the United States has a "moral obligation" to lead the fight against starvation. "When tens of thousand of children die from the agony of starvation like in Somalia, that shows we still have a lot of work to do," Obama said during his remarks at the Ronald Reagan Building. It's unacceptable, an outrage, an affront to who we are. The new investments will first target Tanzania, Ghana and Ethiopia because of their record in improving food security, the president said, and then the project is expected to expand to other countries. Obama also pledged to address hunger issues in the United States. "In Africa and around the world, progress isn't coming fast enough," he said. Economic growth can't just be for the lucky. It should be broad based, for everyone. In a lighter moment, Obama said he thanked U2 frontman Bono, a long-time activist fighting poverty in Africa who was sitting in the front row. "He was my inspiration for singing at the Apollo," Obama said, referring to his impromptu performance at the historic Harlem theater in January. Another lighter moment came later in the Oval Office with Hollande, in which Obama joked about whether Hollande had studied fast food in anticipation of his trip to Chicago. Hollande said he would "say nothing against cheeseburgers," and Obama responded that cheeseburger go very well with French fries.