WASHINGTON - President George W Bush will welcome Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the White House today, in a visit that will go some way towards rehabilitating relations between the two sides.

Mahathir's visit is a sign of the changes wrought in US foreign policy by the Sept 11 attacks - and Washington's desire to engage nations seen as crucial to its international campaign against terrorism.

Mainly Muslim Malaysia has won US praise for its assistance in the campaign since the attacks, and for sharing intelligence with US authorities.

More than 60 militants allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden are in custody, and Malaysia's performance has been compared favourably here to that of Indonesia, which some officials believe has done little to crack down on extremism.

"I shall not ask for anything and shall not compromise on our positions," Mahathir was quoted as saying at the weekend by Utusan Malaysia , a Malay language newspaper.

"However, we will have to correct our relationship with them," said the 76-year-old leader, who has not visited the White House since 1994, during then president Bill Clinton's first term.

Mahathir's invitation to the White House signals that both sides have moved on from the period of testy relations of the previous few years.

The United States expressed outrage at the sodomy and abuse of power convictions handed down to former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who claims he was the victim of a political conspiracy hatched by Mahathir.

US-Malaysia antipathy burst into the open during an Asia-Pacific summit in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, when then former vice president Al Gore broke with diplomatic tradition and criticised Mahathir's government.

Still delicate

Washington was also angered by Mahathir's criticism of globalisation and Western dominated economic and financial institutions in the immediate aftermath of Asia's 1997 financial crisis.

But though US-Malaysian relations have been improving, they are still delicate.

Mahathir, who has a reputation for outspokenness has criticised US policies in the Middle East, and is sure to bring up the plight of Palestinians.

He also wants sanctions lifted against Iraq, and is unlikely to be impressed with widely held assumptions that Baghdad could be a future target of the US-anti-terror campaign.

Mahathir will spend Tuesday morning meeting members of Congress and will also see Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in place of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is abroad.

Tuesday evening, Mahathir is due to deliver a major speech to the US-Asean chamber of commerce.

Mahathir, who is also the finance minister, will also meet Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan.