PM to focus on G20 after US success

As he returned from Washington by chartered plane, it was clear the Prime Minister is now hopeful of sealing some big agreements when the G20 group of leading nations gather in London for an economic summit on April 2.

Mr Brown spoke with President Barack Obama by phone on board the plane to discuss the next steps for taking forward the issues they discussed in the White House on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister will now talk with fellow European leaders, including France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, before making a speech on Friday in Dundee in which he will sum up progress towards international co-operation on measures to revive the global economy.

Later in the month, he is expected to visit Latin America and host a series of leaders from Asia and Africa in Downing Street as part of his efforts to seek agreement from all continents to work together on bank restructuring, reform of international financial regulation and a co-ordinated fiscal stimulus package.

Mr Brown left no doubt that he was pleased by the warm reception given to him when he addressed both houses of Congress on Wednesday.

He feels he made some headway in persuading Congressmen that it is in America's enlightened self-interest to revive global trade and reject the protectionist path of erecting trade barriers to defend US companies and jobs against foreign imports.

And he brushes aside suggestions that Republicans on Capitol Hill will mount a fierce opposition to his proposals for more transparent financial regulation and action against offshore regulatory and tax havens.

While not taking any agreement at the all-important G20 summit for granted, Mr Brown feels he is making headway with his argument that global co-operation is the key to restoring confidence and engineering a return to growth.

He is personally confident that his prediction of a doubling in the size of the world economy - with consequent increases in growth, incomes and jobs - over the next two decades is a reasonable expectation, despite the current stagnation in economies around the world.