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Merkel’s July 15 visit “will confirm deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Merkel’s trip to Washington will be one of her last missions abroad before she leaves the world stage, resigning as head of Europe’s largest economic government.
Since Merkel took office as chancellor 16 years ago, Biden has been the fourth president of the United States.
Merkel will be only the third foreign leader to visit the White House since Biden’s inauguration in January, as his first months in power have been overshadowed by the pandemic crisis.
The only two foreign leaders to visit Baiden at the White House so far are the prime ministers of Japan and South Korea.
Biden and Merkel will talk about steps to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a number of other challenges, including the threat of climate change, promoting economic prosperity and strengthening international security.
Merkel had a close working relationship with US President Barack Obama, but during Donald Trump’s presidency, relations between Berlin and Washington were strained.
Trump took a protectionist stance and sharply criticized Merkel, including in connection with the Chancellor’s liberal refugee policy, Germany’s trade balance and Berlin’s insufficient financial contribution to the US-led NATO alliance.
Since taking office, Biden has been working without delay to re-establish US transatlantic ties, in particular to improve US-German relations.
One of Biden’s first decisions was to overturn Trump’s order to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany, which increased tensions between the countries.
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