German Chancellor Merz visits Asia to strengthen security ties

Summarised from DW News's report · Updated 26 Oct, 15:50 · Archive

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is visiting Singapore, Japan and South Korea to strengthen economic and security relationships amid geopolitical instability.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz kicked off a five-day tour of Asia on Monday, visiting Singapore before scheduled stops in Japan and South Korea. He is accompanied by 30 senior businesspeople from Germany's industry, technology, defence and energy sectors. The trip aims to strengthen Berlin's economic and security relationships amid geopolitical instability that threatens global supply chains.

In Singapore, Merz will deliver a major foreign policy speech and meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. He travels to Japan on Wednesday to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and participate in the German-Japanese Business Summit. Japan has been seeking new security allies and trade partnerships for over a decade, particularly given growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and concerns about China's increasingly expansionist policies and military exercises near Japan.

Merz's visit coincides with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's trip to China, though the two visits are not officially related. Both appear designed to address Berlin's economic and security concerns during a period of geopolitical uncertainty.

Read the report

• Germany's Merz heads to Asia as security issues loom largeChancellor Friedrich Merz will be meeting the leaders of Singapore, Japan and South Korea as Germany seeks to adjust its foreign policy to rising uncertainty and threats to global supply chains.DW News · 26 Oct, 13:32

In this story: Friedrich Merz · Singapore · Japan · South Korea · Lawrence Wong · Sanae Takaichi · Germany · China

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