Barack Obama and Romney will meet Thursday for the first time since the Nov. 6 election.(Stijn Vogels/Creative Commons)

The president will have a private lunch with Romney at the White House in the Private Dining Room, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. Members of the media will not be present at the meeting.

During his election night acceptance speech, Obama said he was  looking forward to "sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward." Obama has praised Romney for his leadership role in organizing the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

Romney has stayed out of the spotlight since his election defeat, but made headlines for remarks he made about "financial gifts" that Obama promised to supporters for their votes. The comments were panned by both Democrats and Republicans.

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