By Xinhua
London : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who heads to the US Sunday for his first meeting with President George W. Bush, has pledged to maintain strong ties between the two countries.
Brown, who succeeded Tony Blair in June, said in a statement released Saturday that he hopes "the relationship with the US is not only strong but can become stronger in the years ahead".
Britain has long been a staunch ally of the US and has supported the Iraq war launched by the Bush administration. The change of premiership has prompted speculation that Britain might accelerate its troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Britain has been gradually withdrawing its troops from Iraq and now has about 5,500 troops in the south of the country.
The White House has said that Bush was due to hold talks with Brown at Camp David early next week. Brown will arrive Sunday night and have dinner and meetings at Camp David, Maryland, Monday.
The two leaders will focus on "continuing to move forward on issues of shared interests and concerns," including US efforts to build a missile defence system in Eastern Europe as well as the issues of Iraq, Iran, Kosovo and Darfur, according to White House spokesman Tony Snow.
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