Libya has agreed to abandon its programme to develop weapons of mass destruction, after nine months of secret negotiations with Britain and the United States, President George W Bush has said.

In a dramatic nationwide broadcast on Friday evening, Bush commended Libyan leader Maommar Gadhafi's 'wise, responsible and constructive' example to other nations.

"With today's announcement, Libya has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations. And Col Gadhafi knows the way forward," Bush said. "As Libya becomes a more peaceful nation, it can be a source of stability in Africa and the Middle East."

He added that Libya has already pledged cooperation in the international fight against terrorism.

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a similar announcement shortly beforehand and said Gadhafi had confirmed that Libya, in the past, had sought to develop WMD capabilities.

Blair said Gadhafi has made a historic decision by deciding to get rid of such weapons.

"I applaud it. It will make the region and the world more secure. It shows that problems of proliferation can, with goodwill, be tackled through discussion and engagement, to be followed up by the responsible international agencies," he said.

Bush said Gadhafi has agreed to immediately and unconditionally allow inspectors from international organisations to enter Libya. "These inspectors will render an accounting of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes and will help oversee their elimination," he said.

Talks leading to this announcement, said Bush, began about nine months ago when Blair and he were contacted through Gadhafi's personal envoys, who communicated his willingness to make a decisive change in the policy of Libyan government.

At the direction of Gadhafi, Libyan officials have provided American and British officers with documentation on that country's chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and activities, Bush said.

Meanwhile, Blair said Libya declared its intention to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction completely and to limit the range of Libyan missiles to no greater than 300 km, in accordance with the parameters set by the Missile Technology Control Regime.

The Libyan government has undertaken that this process will be transparent and verifiable. It will immediately adhere to the Chemical Weapons Convention and declare all nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It will also adhere to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and sign the additional protocol.

"We have offered our support to Libya in presenting its programmes to these international bodies and are prepared to offer assistance with dismantlement," Blair added.