Obama to visit Netherlands, Belgium, Italy

US President Barack Obama will visit the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy in March and hold a meeting with Pope Francis, the White House said Tuesday.

During his stay in the Netherlands (March 24-25), Obama will participate in a nuclear security summit, a gathering of leaders from four organisations and 53 countries with a view to preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists, Xinhua quoted the White House in a statement.

While in Brussels (March 26), Obama will attend a US-EU summit with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.

"This will be President Obama's first visit to the EU institutions," the White House said, noting that he will also meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels.

The next day, Obama will travel to Vatican City to meet Pope Francis.

In Rome, Obama will have separate meetings with Italian president and prime minister.