U.S. President George W. Bush met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Camp David Sunday evening with the two sides are expected to discuss issues including Iraq, Darfur and stalled global trade.

This is the first official visit by Brown since the former Britain's financial minister succeeded Tony Blair on June 27.

Brown, accompanied by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, arrived at Andrews Air Force Base east of Washington just before 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) and then headed straight to Bush's Camp David, Maryland retreat for a private dinner, U.S. officials said.

Upon his arrival, Brown said he would use the visit to strengthen Britain-U.S. relations.

"It is firmly in the British national interest that we have a strong relationship with the United States, our single most important bilateral relationship," he said in a statement.

"Because of the values we share, the relationship with the United States is not only strong, but can become stronger in the years ahead."

Editor: Donald