German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit President Biden at the White House on July 15 to address COVID-19, climate change and other challenges, the White House said Friday.
Ms. Merkel has served as chancellor since 2005 but is not seeking another term, possibly making it the final Washington visit for the German who holds considerable sway over the European Union and broader world.
“Chancellor Merkel’s visit will affirm the deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “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 White House announced the meeting as Mr. Biden tries to project unity at the Group of Seven nations summit in the United Kingdom this weekend.
Earlier this year, Mr. Biden waived sanctions on the nearly completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline that takes gas from Russia to Germany, a move that congressional Republicans dubbed a “baffling” gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ms. Merkel’s planned departure, meanwhile, has set off jockeying in her home country over who can fill her shoes. Germans in their mid-teens haven’t known a country with a different chancellor.