WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver the annual State of the Union address on Jan. 28 next year, the White House said on Friday.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Obama has accepted an invitation from John Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to make the address to a joint session of U.S. Congress on Jan. 28.

"He will be there," Carney said at a daily briefing.

By tradition, Boehner extended the formal invitation letter to Obama on Friday. The annual State of the Union address is set for 9 p.m. EDT (0200 GMT) on Jan. 28.

"In the coming year, Americans expect Washington to focus on their priorities and to look for common ground in addressing the challenges facing our country," wrote Boehner in the letter. "In that spirit, we welcome an opportunity to hear your ideas, particularly for putting Americans back to work."

Obama's annual address is coming in a year for the mid-term Congressional elections. The speech, a chance for the president to lay out his policy agenda the second year into his second-term, is expected to tackle some tough issues his administration is facing now.