Washington to host world leaders

The first meeting will be held to discuss underlying causes of the financial crisis, review progress being made to address it and start developing reforms needed to ensure it does not happen again, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the summit had not been formally announced.

This will be the first in a series of summits that bring together leaders from countries that participate in the G-20 finance process to discuss current economic challenges. The so-called G-20 includes the Group of Seven advanced industrial countries and the European Union as well as China, Brazil, India, Russia, South Korea and other major economies.

At the first meeting, working groups will be set up to develop recommendations to be considered by leaders in subsequent summits. The White House will host a dinner on the eve of the summit. The location of the meeting, however, has not yet been announced.

Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who met at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat last week, announced the series of summit, saying the international community needs to work together to address the credit crisis that has shaken markets around the globe.