London  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown set off Monday to become the first European leader to have talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington, expected to focus on the world economy and future military cooperation.

Officials in London said Brown was keen to deliver a "clear message" from Europe to Obama about the need for urgent worldwide action to counter the economic crisis.

The talks were described as a "make-or-break opportunity" to persuade the new US administration to engage in what Brown has called a "global new deal" to tackle the recession.

London, Feb. 28 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown''s special envoy on the economic crisis has said the global economic meltdown is accelerating Asia''s rise to global power.

Lord Malloch-Brown, the foreign office minister, said the emerging economies were more important than ever in tackling the world''s problems.

Speaking in Thailand as he lobbied a meeting of south east Asian leaders on Brown''s vision for free trade and financial reform, he said:"[Asian countries] want to know that we are not just going to ask Asia to help with the recovery then go back to our bad old transatlantic ways."

Washington, Feb 22 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will visit President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday, March 3, for a "working visit".

Brown will be the second foreign leader to visit Obama at the White House, The Washington Times reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will visit Obama on Tuesday, the White House said.

"The United States and the United Kingdom share a special partnership, and the President looks forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to address common global challenges," the White House said in a statement.

London - Briti

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his British counterpart, Gordon Brown, reiterated Thursday their commitment to free trade and said the current economic crisis must not "pull back" the process of globalization.

"Protectionist measures reduce growth throughout the world, they deprive us of the benefits of global trade and confine to poverty millions of people," the two said in a joint statement.

The statement was posted on the Italian government's website ahead of talks between Berlusconi and Brown in Rome on Thursday.

London, Feb. 19 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said both UK and USA are working on a joint strategy to deal with the issue of terrorism along the Pak-Afghanistan border.

During his monthly news briefing at the Downing Street he said that the British Government was not just looking in Afghanistan but also at the relationship between Pakistan and the US.

"Our strategy is to complement military action in Afghanistan with policies to improve governance and train the Afghan army and police," the Daily Times quoted Brown, as saying.