June 11 (UPI) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with President Joe Biden in mid-July the White House has announced.
The July 15 trip will mark Merkel’s first visit to the United States since Biden’s inauguration.
“The visit will affirm the deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany,” the White House said in a statement.
“The leaders will discuss their commitment to close cooperation on a range of common challenges, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate change, and promoting economic prosperity and international security based on our shared democratic values,” the statement attributed to White House press secretary Jen Psaki reads.
Germany and the United Sates have had notable disagreements over Chinese and Russian influence as well as COVID-19 vaccine technology.
Merkel and Biden are expected to discuss the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. The pipeline is owned in part by an ally of Russia President Vladimir Putin. Biden notably dropped sanctions on the company responsible for its development.
Biden, who is on his first international trip as president, will see Merkel in person at the G7 Summit in Britain on Friday. Merkel rejected an invitation by the Trump administration to a proposed G7 Summit in Washington, D.C., last year.
Trump later made plans to remove 12,000 solders from Germany, which was halted by Biden in February.
Merkel will be the third leader of a foreign nation to meet with Biden on U.S. soil. Her visit comes after that of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Merkel has announced she is not running for reelection and will relinquish the role later this year. She has served as chancellor for the past 16 years.
