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Gordon Brown will fly to the United States on a mission to deliver a "clear message" to Barack Obama from Europe about the need for urgent worldwide action to counter the economic crisis.
Britain's Prime Minister, who beat other European leaders to the coveted first invite for talks with the new US president, has declared his determination to forge a "global new deal" with the US.
As well as Tuesday's White House meeting, Mr Brown has also been invited to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday - only the fifth British premier to make such a speech.
Speaking after an emergency EU summit on Sunday, Mr Brown declared: "Let me finish with a clear message which I will take with me to Washington: bold global action, a global grand bargain, is not now just necessary but it is vitally urgent to deal with the challenges of the world economy. And when, in exactly one month's time, world leaders gather in London to take the big decisions necessary to secure our economic future we must, and we will, succeed."
Mr Brown had earlier set out his aim for the US visit. he said they were to harness the historic "partnership of purpose" between Britain and the US to fight the downturn as well as terrorism, poverty and disease.
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The decision to invite him ahead of the French or German leaders is seen as an indication of the importance attached to the "special relationship" as well as more practical considerations such as London's hosting of next month's G20 summit and place as the main ally of the US in Afghanistan.
Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Brown said: "I believe there is no challenge so great or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by America, Britain and the world working together.
"That is why President Obama and I will discuss this week a global new deal, whose impact can stretch from the villages of Africa to reforming the financial institutions of London and New York - and giving security to the hard-working families in every country."
Stressing his long-term affection for the US, he said: "Winston Churchill described the joint inheritance of Britain and America as not just a shared history but a shared belief in the great principles of freedom and the rights of man - what Barack Obama has described as the enduring power of our ideals - democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
"Britain and America may be separated by the thousands of miles of the Atlantic, but we are united by shared values that can never be broken."
