Politics White House: Biden travels to Germany in mid-October

US President Joe Biden will visit Germany in mid-October. Biden will travel to Germany on October 10 and then on to Angola on October 13, the White House announced. The US President will meet with leading German politicians in Germany "to further strengthen the close ties between the United States and Germany as allies and friends and to coordinate on shared priorities".

Biden wants to thank Germany for its support in Ukraine

During his visit, Biden also wanted to reaffirm the commitment of the USA and Germany to democracy and the fight against anti-Semitism and hatred, according to the government headquarters in Washington. He also intends to express his appreciation to Germany for its support for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. Germany is contributing to the security of the United States and the entire NATO alliance, the statement continued. The White House did not initially provide any further details about Biden's trip to Germany.

The "Tagesspiegel" had previously reported that Biden wanted to travel to Berlin for three days. The Berlin police are already clarifying special shift and duty modalities for this. Last week, the US newspaper "The Hill" had reported on the President's travel plans, citing sources close to Biden, but without an exact date.

It will be Biden's first bilateral visit to Germany in his four-year term of office and the first visit by a US president to Berlin since Barack Obama visited the then head of government Angela Merkel (CDU) in the Chancellery in November 2016 on his farewell tour.

Biden's term of office ends soon

Biden did attend the G7 summit in Elmau in 2022 and made a refueling stop with his government plane at the military base in Ramstein on another occasion. However, there has not yet been a regular bilateral visit.

The 81-year-old will leave office in January. In July, he withdrew from the election campaign for a second term of office under great pressure from his own party and left the field to his deputy Kamala Harris. This was due to major internal party concerns about his age and mental state.

Before his withdrawal from the presidential race, Biden had reduced foreign travel to a minimum due to the election campaign. Now, however, he has more time for his official duties again - and is working on his political legacy in the remaining months before he leaves the White House.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to the US capital several times during Biden's presidency - but always for working visits and not for a state visit accompanied by special protocol pomp.

Trip to Africa repeatedly postponed

Biden had long promised a trip to the African continent, but repeatedly postponed it. The White House has now announced that Biden intends to travel on to Angola after his stop in Germany. Several members of Biden's cabinet had previously visited various countries on the African continent.