Obama's frst stop: Visit to Canada

Barack Obama will visit Canada in his first international trip as US president, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Saturday.

"We have been in close contact with President-elect Obama's transition team. We can confirm that the President-elect has accepted the Prime Minister's invitation to visit Canada soon after he is inaugurated," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

No date for the trip was provided, but the statement said it would be Obama's first foreign trip as president. Obama takes office on January 20.

An aide for Obama's transition team confirmed the trip but did not offer details.

Most US presidents have paid their first international visits to Canada, America's northern neighbour and largest trading partner, although President George W. Bush made his first trip in office to Mexico.

Obama is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon today in Washington.