Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet with US President George W. Bush in Washington on May 26, official Palestinian sources said Saturday.

It will be the first official visit by Abbas to Washington as Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President, a post he succeeded from late leader Yasser Arafat who died in November last year.

The last time Bush met Abbas was in 2003, when Abbas was nominated the first ever Palestinian prime minister.

Washington had shunned Arafat on peace talks, labelling him an obstacle to peace for fomenting violence in the Mideast region.

Following an Arab-South American summit in Brazil on May 10-11, Abbas will visit Japan Sunday and head on to China for a two-day visit.

Abbas said during his US tour, he would ask Washington to offer political and economical support for the Palestinians to push forward the peace process and improve the deteriorating economic situation.