Liberia's president has praised Barack Obama's "extraordinary" leadership in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
With Liberia now in recovery from the worst outbreak ever of the deadly virus, the United States ended its military mission in the region Thursday.
"You gave the clarion call to the global community to see the threat this disease represented," Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Obama in the Oval Office at the White House.
"We want to really recognise the extraordinary leadership that you performed."
She also thanked the US Congress, where Obama's fellow Democrats and Republican foes alike backed efforts that led to $US2.5 billion ($A3.21 billion) in aid and the deployment of 2800 troops.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The US military mission mainly helped build treatment centres, trained personnel and provided logistical support to international aid agencies.
The Pentagon says around 100 US troops are to remain in the region to strengthen "disease preparedness and surveillance capacity" of local governments.
There are now only between one and three cases of new infections each week, and Sirleaf hopes to see the end of the epidemic in April.
Obama congratulated Liberia in meeting an "extraordinarily difficult challenge," saying he was "very proud" of US participation in the efforts.
