WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- President Bush will meet new German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House Jan. 11, spokesman Scott McClellan said.
The visit will be the first official one to Washington by Merkel since becoming chancellor on Nov. 22, replacing Gerhard Schroeder, a vocal opponent of the Iraq war who won a previous election after a campaign highly critical of U.S. policy.
Merkel is widely expected to try and improve relations with the United States, but emerging transatlantic tensions over the reported presence of secret CIA detention centers in Europe may have put a cloud over that effort.
McClellan said Bush and Merkel would discuss a range of issues. Among them would be bilateral relations, strengthening of transatlantic ties and joint efforts to promote freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Strengthening of NATO and worldwide economic stability and growth would also feature prominently on the agenda, he said.
