SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Australian foreign minister has privately warned Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that foreign leaders see "America in decline."

That's according to Romney, who says he met with Foreign Minister Bob Carr in a San Francisco hotel Sunday evening shortly before a Republican fundraiser.

Romney says Carr suggested that America could improve that international perception "with one budget deal" that helps balance the budget.

A Romney spokesman says the foreign minister requested the private meeting. The campaign would not say whether the two discussed foreign policy.

Romney is scheduled to launch his first trip abroad as his party's presumptive presidential nominee later this week. He's set to meet with leaders in England, Israel and Poland.