Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 31, 2004
Bush, Schroeder to meet on bilateral, global issues
US President George W. Bush will meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Feb. 27 to discuss issues ranging from bilateral relations to Afghanistan andIraq, the White House announced on Friday.
US President George W. Bush will meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Feb. 27 to discuss issues ranging from bilateral relations to Afghanistan andIraq, the White House announced on Friday.
"Germany is a long-standing ally, and the president looks forward to extensive discussions with Chancellor Schroeder on important bilateral and global issues," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.
He said Germany is a major contributor to the efforts to bring peace and democracy to Afghanistan, noting Germany has led the wayin expanding NATO's international security assistance force beyondKabul.
He also praised Germany as "a key partner in forging closer US-European political and economic relations."
However, the spokesman did not mention the rift between the twocountries over the Iraq war, which Germany strongly opposed.