Washington/Ottawa  - US President Barack Obama arrived Thursday in Ottawa on his first foreign visit, where he was greeted at the airport by Governor General Michaelle Jean.

The pair made a striking image, bringing home the message of racial change in North America, as both leaders are black.

Obama was to travel to Parliament Hill, where he is to be greeted in the rotunda by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The scheduled seven-hour visit to the US neighbour to the north was expected to have trade, the global economic crisis and the NATO mission in Afghanistan on the agenda.

Obama is to have lunch with Harper and other Parliament leaders, followed by a news conference.

Before leaving Canada in the afternoon, Obama was to have a private meeting with opposition leader Michael Ignatieff of the Liberal Party.

Trade between the two countries is valued at 1.5 billion dollars a day. Obama has vowed to combat protectionist impulses, which often grow during periods of economic hardship.

Canada has about 2,700 soldiers in Kandahar, the most volatile province of Afghanistan. With 108 dead and over 300 wounded, Canada has has great troop casualties per capita than any other NATO country in Afghanistan, and Ottawa has issued a 2011 deadline for its own pullout from the conflict. (dpa)