Tony Blair is set to meet with president George W Bush on what is expected to be his last trip to Washington as prime minister. On Wednesday evening President Bush will host a White House dinner for the prime minister before one-on-one discussions on international affairs.

The Number 10 official spokesman said that talks would continue with a working session in the Oval Office on Thursday morning, before a press conference and working lunch.

Preparations for June’s G8 summit in Germany will provide the main focus of discussions between the two men. ...

A global agreement on global warming is also set to feature on the talks agenda.

“What we are seeking at the G8 is a consensus on climate change on the best way forward and that is not just Europe, which has its own position but also the US and the developing countries including India and China,” the spokesman said.

“The end point of the negotiation is the G8 not this week, but this trip is a stepping stone to the G8.

“Everybody is aware of where each other’s position is, it is a question of how you try and approach the point of consensus and the point where you judge if that has been achieved or not is at the G8.”

On Africa and global warming, Number 10 said that the Gleneagles summit was “a defining moment”.

“The key question coming out of Gleneagles was can those debates and progress be sustained,” said the spokesman. “I think on Africa that is being sustained, but we need to keep everybody up to the mark on that. On concrete deliverables I think the G8 this year will further answer that cause.

“In terms of climate change if you look where the debate in Europe is now compared to where it was prior to Gleneagles it is unrecognisable. We have moved forward.

“There are other areas of the world, and the US is not alone in this, where we need to ask the same question and the time to answer that will be at the G8 in Germany in June and this trip is part of that process.”
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