UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY GERMANY'S DEPUTY GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Anadolu staff
BERLIN (AP) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit Türkiye next Thursday for talks on bilateral ties and international issues, officials announced on Friday.
Deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille said Merz will make his first official visit to Ankara on Oct. 30 to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The discussions will include bilateral and foreign policy issues, as well as closer cooperation in the areas of the economy, migration, and security," Hille told a press conference in Berlin.
He emphasized that Türkiye is a “strategically important” NATO ally and that Ankara and Berlin have many issues in common to discuss, including foreign policy, migration, energy, and trade.
"We are also closely connected through the many Germans with Turkish roots and the many Turkish citizens living in Germany," the deputy spokesman said, adding that issues related to the 3.5 million-strong Turkish community would also be on the agenda.
When asked whether Türkiye's stalled EU membership talks would be discussed during the visit, Hille said Berlin is interested in giving new momentum to cooperation between the EU and Türkiye on issues of common interest.
“Türkiye naturally has a special significance and is a particularly important neighbor of the EU. And we are also striving for further progress in EU-Türkiye relations,” Hille said. "As you may know, we are already conducting high-level dialogues in the areas of trade, migration, and security," he added.