Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will go to the White House on Monday for talks with United States President George W. Bush.
The talks are expected to focus on the recent international financial crisis with Berlusconi illustrating the measures the leaders of the 15 euro-zone countries have decided to adopt in order to ease the global credit squeeze and restore investor confidence in the markets.
Berlusconi will return to the White House in the evening where he will be the guest of honor at a gala dinner marking the Columbus Day Holiday which traditionally celebrates the contributions which Italian immigrants have made to American society and culture.
After his initial meeting with Bush, who is in the final 100 days of his presidency, Berlusconi will be taken by First Lady Laura Bush for a visit to the National Gallery which is hosting a major exhibition on Pompeii.
Berlusconi is then scheduled to have a working lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney and in the afternoon is set to speak by phone with the two candidates for next month's presidential elections, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barak Obama.
