List of Chancellor Angela Merkel's trips abroad

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has carried out the following official trips abroad since taking office on November 22, 2005 ( 16th legislative period ).

function

The Chancellor's trips abroad serve to deepen relations with the countries visited. Here, issues of social, political and / or economic cooperation are discussed and, if necessary, appropriate contracts are signed. In addition to the official occasions, visits to museums , cultural and sporting events, receiving honors and prizes are another part of the trips abroad.

On most trips abroad, Angela Merkel is accompanied by ministers and business representatives.

Inaugural visit

The diplomatic trips of the heads of government are widely received in the media. Merkel's predecessors in office Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt were the first to travel to France in 1998, 1982 and 1974, respectively.

1. Term of office

During the coalition of the CDU and the CSU with the SPD in the first cabinet (2005–2009) under the leadership of Angela Merkel, the inaugural visit was to France .

2. Term of office

Angela Merkel's inaugural visit to the Black and Yellow Cabinet took her to the USA . Here she spoke as the second German after Konrad Adenauer before the Congress of the United States .

3. Term of office

After the formation of the second grand coalition and the election of Angela Merkel as Chancellor of the new government on December 17, 2013, the inaugural visit took her to France.

4. Term of office

After Angela Merkel was re- elected and sworn in as Federal Chancellor of the grand coalition on March 14, 2018 , she traveled two days later to see French President Emmanuel Macron .

International organizations

The other visits abroad are official events of the European Union , the G8 countries, the UN and other international organizations. At these meetings, topics that affect the whole world ( crises , wars , upheavals in the financial markets ) are analyzed .

European Council and G8

In terms of foreign policy, 2007 was marked by the presidency of the European Council in the first half of the year. Angela Merkel was chairwoman of the G8 throughout the year, with the political climax of the Heiligendamm summit in June.

List of visits abroad

Map with all the countries visited, as of February 2015 (for more detailed explanations, please click directly on the map.)

As of August 20, 2019, Angela Merkel visited 89 countries (Afghanistan, Egypt, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile, China , Denmark, Ivory Coast, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Croatia, Kosovo, Kuwait , Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Morocco, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Austria, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia , Sweden, Switzerland, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Vietnam, Belarus, Zype rn) and the Palestinian Territories.

First term

2005

date	place	Main reason	image
November 23	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Jacques Chirac
	Brussels ( Belgium )	Meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the President of the EU Commission , José Manuel Barroso
November 24th	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair
November 27th	Barcelona ( Spain )	Participation in the Euromed summit
2. December	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
16.-17. December	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2006

date	place	Main reason	image
January 2nd	Vienna ( Austria )	Meeting with Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel
12-13 January	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President George W. Bush
January 16	Moscow ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
January 23	Versailles ( France )	Meeting with President Jacques Chirac
January 29th	Jerusalem ( Israel )	Meeting with Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
	Ramallah ( Palestine )	Meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas
26th of April	Tomsk ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
4th to 5th April	New York and Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President George W. Bush , speech to American and German entrepreneurs, speech at the 100th anniversary of the American Jewish Committee
May 11th	Bratislava ( Slovakia )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda
12th of May	Vienna ( Austria )	Participation in the Caribbean Summit
22-23 May	Beijing and Shanghai ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao , visiting the installations of the Expo 2010
15-17 July	Saint Petersburg ( Russia )	Participation in the G8 summit
August 25	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Jacques Chirac
10-11 September	Helsinki ( Finland )	Participation in the ASEM summit , bilateral meetings with the Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński , the South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun , and the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
September 23rd	Compiègne ( France )	Meeting with President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin
September 28th	Castel Gandolfo ( Italy )	Private audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
October 6th	Istanbul ( Turkey )	Meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
October 12th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Jacques Chirac
the 20th of October	Lahti ( Finland )	Participation in the informal European Council
October 27	The Hague ( Netherlands )	Meeting with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Queen Beatrix
November 3rd	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair
15th of November	Luxembourg ( Luxembourg )	Received the Vision for Europe award from the Edmond Israel Foundation
December 7th	Milan ( Italy )	Meeting with Prime Minister Romano Prodi , visit to La Scala in Milan
15th December	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
19. December	Helsinki ( Finland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
	Copenhagen ( Denmark )	Meeting with Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen

2007

date	place	Main reason	image
January 5th	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President George W. Bush
15. January	Ljubljana ( Slovenia )	Participation in the anniversary celebration of the euro
January 17th	Strasbourg ( France )	Speech to the European Parliament
21th January	Sochi ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
January 24th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Speech at the World Economic Forum
3 February	Cairo ( Egypt )	Meeting with President Hosni Mubarak
February 4th	Riyadh ( Saudi Arabia )	Meeting with King Abdullah II
February 5th	Abu Dhabi ( United Arab Emirates )	Meeting with Emir Chalifa bin Zayid Al Nahyan , President of the UAE
February 6th	Dubai ( United Arab Emirates )	Meeting with Emir Muhammad ibn Rashid Al Maktum
	Kuwait ( Kuwait )	Meeting with Prime Minister Nasir al-Muhammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah
13th February	Strasbourg ( France )	Speech to the European Parliament
February 15th	Cannes ( France )	Participation in the France-Africa summit
6th March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council to reach agreement on climate protection, participation in the EU social summit
March 16	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with President Lech Kaczyński , speech at the University of Warsaw
19th March	Rome ( Italy )	Meeting with Prime Minister Romano Prodi
March 31	Amman and Aqaba ( Jordan )	Meeting with King Abdullah II
April 1st	Jerusalem ( Israel )	Meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University , visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial
	Ramallah ( Palestine )	Meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in support of the peace process
2nd of April	Beirut ( Lebanon )	Meeting with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora , visiting the frigate Brandenburg , a flagship of the German naval association , in the UNIFIL mission
29-30 April	Washington, DC ( United States )	Participation in the EU-US summit
May 11th	Zagreb ( Croatia )	Participation in the meeting of the countries of the Southeast European Cooperation, bilateral discussion with the Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
17.-18. May	Samara ( Russia )	Participation in the EU-Russia summit
17th of June	Luxembourg ( Luxembourg )	Conversation with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
21-22 June	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
16th of July	Toulouse ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
20th of July	Athens ( Greece )	Meeting with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis
17.-18. August	Ilulissat ( Denmark )	Meeting with Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen , visiting the west Greenland coast in the context of climate change and global warming
August 21	Budapest ( Hungary )	Meeting with Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány , speech in the German-speaking Andrássy University
August 22nd	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown
26.-28. August	Beijing and Nanjing ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao , speech at the Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, speech at the Nanjing Legal Institute
29.-31. August	Tokyo , Kyoto and Osaka ( Japan )	Meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe , meeting with Emperor Akihito , speaking to the Inamori Foundation in Kyoto, visiting the World Athletics Championships in Osaka and meeting with German athletes
24.-25. September	New York ( United States )	Participation in the UN climate summit , speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations , acceptance of the World Statesman Award 2007 (Head of Government of the Year) from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation
4th of October	Addis Ababa ( Ethiopia )	Meeting with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi , address to the African Union
5th-6th October	Johannesburg , Pretoria and Cape Town ( South Africa )	Meeting with President Thabo Mbeki , meeting with former President and Nobel Prize winner Nelson Mandela
October 7th	Monrovia ( Liberia )	Meeting with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
October 29th - November 1st	New Delhi and Mumbai ( India )	Meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , visiting the Bank for Rural Development in Mumbai
November 3rd	Kabul ( Afghanistan )	Meeting with President Hamid Karzai , visit of the German ISAF soldiers
9-10 November	Crawford ( United States )	Meeting with President George W. Bush
6th of December	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
December 8th	Lisbon ( Portugal )	Participation in the EU-Africa summit
13th December	Lisbon ( Portugal )	Signing of the Lisbon Treaty
December 14th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Meeting of EU heads of state and government

2008

date	place	Main reason	image
January 29th	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown
31 January	Palma ( Spain )	Meeting with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
8th of March	Moscow ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
the 14th of March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
14.-16. March	Tel Aviv and Jerusalem ( Israel )	Visit on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel , meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , speech to the Knesset
3rd to 4th April	Bucharest ( Romania )	Participation in the NATO summit
12. April	Oslo ( Norway )	Meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
April 14th	Dublin ( Ireland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
April 15th	Strasbourg ( France )	Speech to the European Parliament
April 29	Bern and Geneva ( Switzerland )	Meeting with Federal President Pascal Couchepin , visit to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
13-15 May	Brasília and São Paulo ( Brazil )	Meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , visit of the VW headquarters in São Paulo
15.-16. May	Lima ( Peru )	Meeting with President Alan García , participation in the EU-Latin America summit
17.-18. May	Bogotá ( Colombia )	Meeting with President Álvaro Uribe
18. – 19. May	Mexico City ( Mexico )	Meeting with President Felipe Calderón
7th-9th July	Tōyako ( Japan )	Participation in the G8 summit
July 13th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
17th July	Algiers ( Algeria )	Meeting with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
21 July	Kiev ( Ukraine )	Meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
15.-16. August	Sochi ( Russia )	Meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev
17th August	Tbilisi ( Georgia )	Meeting with President Mikheil Saakashvili
August 25	Stockholm ( Sweden )	Meeting with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
26th of August	Tallinn ( Estonia )	Meeting with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip
	Vilnius ( Lithuania )	Meeting with President Valdas Adamkus and Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas
September 1	Brussels ( Belgium )	Attend an extraordinary meeting of the European Council
September 24th	Wroclaw ( Poland )	Awarded an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Wroclaw
October 2nd	Saint Petersburg ( Russia )	Meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev
4th of October	Paris ( France )	Participation in the G4 summit (summit with President Nicolas Sarkozy , Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi )
October 11th	Colombey-les-Deux-Églises ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
October 12th	Paris ( France )	Euro countries decide on a joint action plan to stabilize the financial markets
October, 16th	Brussels ( Belgium )
the 20th of October	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek
23-25 October	Beijing ( People's Republic of China )	Participation in the ASEM summit
30th of October	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown
November 7th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Preparatory meeting for the world financial summit
November 18	Trieste ( Italy )	Meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
November 24th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
9th of December	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk
December 11th and 12th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2009

date	place	Main reason	image
January 8th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
January 18th	Sharm El Sheikh ( Egypt )	To a ceasefire in the conference Gaza bring
	( Israel )	Meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
January 30th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
1st March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the EU special meeting on the economic crisis
March, 20th	Brussels ( Belgium )
April 1st	London ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the world financial summit
4. April	Strasbourg ( France )	Participation in the NATO meeting
April 5th	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Participation in the EU-US summit
April 6th	Kunduz ( Afghanistan )	Visit of German bases in Afghanistan
May 7th	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Participation in the founding summit of the EU's Eastern Partnership
June 4th	Krakow ( Poland )	Participation in the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism
June 11th	Paris ( France )	Preparation of the European Council
June 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
June 26th	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Barack Obama
8-10 July	L'Aquila ( Italy )	Participation in the G8 summit
August 14th	Sochi ( Russia )	Meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev
August 19th	Sopron ( Hungary )	Participation in the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Hungarian border
September 1	Gdansk ( Poland )	Participation in the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War
17th of September	Brussels ( Belgium )	Informal meeting of EU heads of state or government
24./25. September	Pittsburgh ( United States )	Participation in the world financial summit

Second term

2009

date	place	Main reason	image
27./28. October	- ( Germany )	Beginning of the 17th legislative period / re-election as German Chancellor
29./30. October	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
2nd / 3rd November	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Barack Obama , addressing the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States Congress
November 11th	Paris ( France )	Participation in the commemoration of the end of the First World War
November 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Meeting of EU heads of state and government
10/11 December	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
17./18. December	Copenhagen ( Denmark )	Participation in the 15th Climate Change Conference of the United Nations

2010

date	place	Main reason	image
February 4th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy , 12th Franco-German Council of Ministers
February 11th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the EU special meeting
9th March	Luxembourg ( Luxembourg )	Meeting with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Grand Duke Henri
March 11	The Hague ( Netherlands )	Meeting with Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
25./26. March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
29./30. March	Istanbul and Ankara ( Turkey )	Two-day trip abroad, etc. a. Meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül
April 1st	Checkers and London ( UK )	Meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown , receiving the King Charles II Medal from the Royal Society
12-15 April	Washington, DC , Los Angeles and San Francisco ( United States )	Four-day trip abroad, etc. a. Participation in the summit on nuclear safety
April 16	Lisbon ( Portugal )	Unexpected stopover on the way back to Germany due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland
17th April	Rome and Bolzano ( Italy )	Continuation of the delayed return journey to Germany by plane (to Rome) and vehicles (to Bolzano) due to the volcanic eruption on Iceland
April 18	Bolzano ( Italy )	Last stage of the delayed return journey by vehicle to Germany due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland
May 7th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the summit of the countries of the euro area
8/9 May	Moscow ( Russia )	Meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev , taking part in the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War
17th of May	Madrid ( Spain )	Participation in the EU-Latin America summit
24.-27. May	Abu Dhabi ( United Arab Emirates ), Thuwal and Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia ), Doha ( Qatar ) and Manama ( Bahrain )	Tour of the eco-city of Masdar , tour of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology , meeting with the Saudi King Abdullah , meeting with the Prime Minister of Bahrain, Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
17th of June	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
25./26. June	Huntsville ( Canada )	Participation in the G8 summit
26./27. June	Toronto ( Canada )	Participation in the G20 summit
3rd of July	Cape Town ( South Africa )	Meeting with President Jacob Zuma , participation in the soccer game Germany against Argentina of the soccer world championship
15th of July	Yekaterinburg ( Russia )	Meeting with Dmitri Medvedev , participation in the 12th German-Russian government consultations and the Petersburg Dialogue
16th of July	Beijing ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao
17th July	Xi'an ( People's Republic of China )	Continuation of the previous day's meeting, visiting the Terracotta Army
July 18th	Astana ( Kazakhstan )	Meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev
September 6th	Vilnius ( Lithuania )	Meeting with President Dalia Grybauskaitė
7th of September	Riga ( Latvia )	Meeting with President Valdis Zatlers
16th September	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
20./21. September	New York ( United States )	Participation in the summit of the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals
4th of October	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the 8th ASEM summit
October 11th	Sofia ( Bulgaria )	Meeting with President Georgi Parvanow and Prime Minister Boyko Borissow , receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Ruse and the Bulgarian State Order Stara Planina
October 12th	Bucharest ( Romania )	Meeting with President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Emil Boc
18./19. October	Deauville ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev
28/29 October	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
30./31. October	Checkers ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron
November 12th	Bruges and Brussels ( Belgium )	Meeting with King Albert II and Prime Minister Yves Leterme
11./12. November	Seoul ( South Korea )	Participation in the G20 summit
19./20. November	Lisbon ( Portugal )	Participation in the NATO summit
December 1	Astana ( Kazakhstan )	Participation in the OSCE summit
16./17. December	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
December 18th	Kunduz and Mazar-e Sharif ( Afghanistan )	Visit of German troops and meeting with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai

2011

date	place	Main reason	image
10. January	Valletta ( Malta )	Meeting with President George Abela and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi
11th January	Nicosia ( Cyprus )	Meeting with President Dimitris Christofias
January 28th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
January 31st - February 1st	Jerusalem and Tel Aviv ( Israel )	Meeting with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the occasion of the 3rd German-Israeli government consultations, receiving an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University
3 February	Madrid ( Spain )	Meeting with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos I on the occasion of the 23rd German-Spanish government consultations
February 4th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
February 7th	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with President Bronisław Komorowski and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the Weimar Triangle
February 15th	Bratislava ( Slovakia )	Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Visegrád Agreement
March 11	Brussels ( Belgium )	Special meeting of the European Council on the situation in Libya
19th March	Paris ( France )	Participation in a summit on the Libya crisis
24./25. March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
26./27. May	Deauville ( France )	Participation in the G8 summit
May 31 / June 1	New Delhi ( India ) and Singapore	Two day trip abroad in India and Singapore
7th / 8th June	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Barack Obama , receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom
14th June	Geneva ( Switzerland )	Speech at the 100th Annual Labor Conference of the International Labor Organization
June 21st	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the German-Polish government consultations
23/24 June	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
July 9	Hel Peninsula ( Poland )	Informal meeting in a private atmosphere with the Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski
12-14 July	Nairobi ( Kenya ), Luanda ( Angola ), Abuja ( Nigeria )	Three day trip to Africa
21 July	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
August 16	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy
22./23. August	Zagreb ( Croatia ), Belgrade ( Serbia )	Meeting with Jadranka Kosor and Boris Tadić
August 30th	Ljubljana ( Slovenia )	Working visit to Borut Pahor
September 1	Paris ( France )	Participation in the Libya Conference
29./30. September	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the Eastern Partnership Summit
5th October	Brussels ( Belgium )	Meeting with the EU Commission and the EU Parliament
10-13 October	Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City ( Vietnam ), Ulaanbaatar ( Mongolia )	Trip abroad to Vietnam and Mongolia
23rd October	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
November 3rd and 4th	Cannes ( France )	Participation in the G 20 summit
December 8th and 9th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
19. December	Pristina ( Kosovo )	Meeting with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi , visit of German KFOR troops

2012

date	place	Main reason	image
January 25th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
January 30th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the informal meeting of the members of the European Council
February 1st and 2nd	Beijing and Guangzhou ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with President Hu Jintao , Chairman of the National People's Congress Wu Bangguo , and Premier Wen Jiabao
February 6th	Paris ( France )	Participation in the 14th Franco-German Council of Ministers
March 1st and 2nd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
March 13th	Rome ( Italy )	Meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Mario Monti
3rd of April	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Meeting with President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas
May 18th and 19th	Camp David ( United States )	Participation in the G8 summit
May 20th	Chicago ( United States )	Participation in the NATO summit
23. May	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the informal dinner of the EU heads of state and government
June 18th and 19th	Los Cabos ( Mexico )	Participation in the G20 summit
June 22	Rome ( Italy )	Working meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti , the French President François Hollande , and the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
June 27th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande
June 28th and 29th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
July 4th	Rome ( Italy )	German-Italian government consultations
8th of July	Reims ( France )	Participation in the 50th anniversary of the mass in Reims Cathedral , attended by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle . The fair is a symbol for the improvement of Franco-German relations .
July 9-11	Jakarta ( Indonesia )	Meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono . Visit to the tsunami early warning center and the Istiqlal mosque , as well as meeting with Indonesian and German business representatives.
August 15th and 16th	Ottawa and Gatineau ( Canada )	Meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper
August 22nd	Chișinău ( Moldova )	Meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Filat ; First visit by a German head of government to Moldova
August 29th and 30th	Beijing and Tianjin ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice President Xi Jinping
September 6th	Madrid ( Spain )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and participation in the German-Spanish business meeting
7th of September	Vienna ( Austria )	Meeting with Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann
9th October	Athens ( Greece )	Meeting with Prime Minister Andonis Samaras
October 18th and 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
November 7th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Keynote address on European policy before the European Parliament
November 7th	London ( United Kingdom )	Labor dinner with Prime Minister David Cameron
November 12th	Lisbon ( Portugal )	Meeting with President Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho ; Participation in the German-Portuguese entrepreneur meeting
November 16	Moscow ( Russia )	Participation in the 14th German-Russian government consultations; Speech at the Petersburg Dialogue
November 22nd and 23rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the special summit of the European Council on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework; Meeting with the President of the European Council , Herman Van Rompuy
10th of December	Oslo ( Norway )	Participation in the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union
December 13th and 14th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2013

date	place	Main reason	image
January 12th	Limassol ( Cyprus )	Meeting with Cypriot politicians
January 24th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
January 26th and 27th	Santiago de Chile ( Chile )	Meeting with President Sebastián Piñera . Participation in the EU summit with the Latin American and Caribbean countries
February 6th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President François Hollande and visiting the France-Germany football match at the Stade de France
February 7th and 8th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
20. February	Oslo ( Norway )	Meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
February 24th and 25th	Kahramanmaraş , Göreme and Ankara ( Turkey )	Visit of the German troops as part of Operation Active Fence and meeting with President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
6th March	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the meeting of the member countries of the Visegrád Group , together with the French President François Hollande
March 14th and 15th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
19th March	Vatican City ( Vatican City )	Participation in the inauguration of Pope Francis
10th of May	Mazār-i Sharif and Kunduz ( Afghanistan )	Visit of German troops in Afghanistan
May 18	Vatican City ( Vatican City )	Private audience with Pope Francis
May 22	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council . Honored with the Lord Jakobovits of European Jewry Price by the European Rabbinical Conference .
23. May	Nijmegen ( Netherlands )	Awarded an honorary doctorate from Radboud University Nijmegen
25. May	London ( United Kingdom )	Visit to the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in London's Wembley Stadium
30th May	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President François Hollande
June 17th and 18th	Lough Erne ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the G8 summit
June 21st	Saint Petersburg ( Russia )	Participation in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and meeting with President Vladimir Putin
June 28th and 29th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
September 5th and 6th	Saint Petersburg ( Russia )	Participation in the G20 summit
October 19th	Ghent ( Belgium )	Participation in the funeral service for the former Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens and meeting with the current Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo
October 24th and 25th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
November 12th	Paris ( France )	Attend a conference on youth employment
November 28th and 29th	Vilnius ( Lithuania )	Participation in the Eastern Partnership Summit

Third term

2013

date	place	Main reason	image
December 18th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande
December 19th and 20th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2014

date	place	Main reason	image
19th of February	Paris ( France )	Participation in the 16th Franco-German Council of Ministers and meeting with the French President François Hollande , visit to the OECD and meeting with the Secretary General of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría , participation in the European Round Table of Industrialists
February 24th and 25th	Jerusalem ( Israel )	Participation in the fifth German-Israeli government consultations. Meeting with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
27th of February	London ( United Kingdom )	Speech in front of both Houses of Parliament , meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron , audience with Elizabeth II.
6th March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the EU special summit on the crisis in Ukraine
7th March	Dublin ( Ireland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Enda Kenny
March 12th	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk
March 20th and 21st	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
March 24th and 25th	The Hague ( Netherlands )	Participation in the summit on nuclear safety
April 2nd and 3rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the 4th EU-Africa Summit
11 April	Athens ( Greece )	Meeting with Prime Minister Andonis Samaras
2.May	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Barack Obama , speech on transatlantic economic issues as well as current questions of bilateral relations and foreign policy before the American Chamber of Commerce
May 27th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in an informal meeting of EU heads of state and government
June 4th and 5th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the G7 summit
6th of June	Ouistreham and Ranville ( France )	Participation in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the landing of the Allied troops in Normandy , wreath-laying ceremony at the Ranville military cemetery
June 9th and 10th	Mellösa ( Sweden )	Participation in informal talks with the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt , the British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Swedish government guest house in Harpsund
June 15th and 16th	Brasília and Salvador da Bahia ( Brazil )	Meeting with President Dilma Rousseff , visiting the World Cup group game Germany - Portugal
June 26th and 27th	Ypres and Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
July 6-8	Chengdu and Beijing ( People's Republic of China )
July 13th	Rio de Janeiro ( Brazil )	Attending the final of the World Cup between Germany and Argentina
15th of July	Dubrovnik ( Croatia )	Participation in the Brdo summit
16th of July	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
18th of August	Riga ( Latvia )	Meeting with President Andris Bērziņš and Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma
August 23	Kiev ( Ukraine )	Meeting with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
August 24th and 25th	Santiago de Compostela ( Spain )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
August 30th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Attend an extraordinary meeting of the European Council
September 4th and 5th	Newport ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the NATO summit
October 16 and 17	Milan ( Italy )	Participation in the ASEM summit
the 20th of October	Bratislava ( Slovakia )	Meeting with Andrej Kiska and Robert Fico , receiving an honorary doctorate from the Comenius University in Bratislava
October 23rd and 24th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
28th of October	Ypres and Nieuwpoort ( Belgium )	Participation in the central commemoration of the Kingdom of Belgium on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Yser
November 13th and 14th	Auckland and Motutapu Island ( New Zealand )	Meeting with Prime Minister John Key , visiting a project to raise endangered kiwis
November 15th to 17th	Brisbane and Sydney ( Australia )	Participation in the G20 summit, meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott
20th November	Krzyżowa ( Poland )	Participation in the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Reconciliation Mass
December 18th and 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2015

date	place	Main reason	image
January 7th	London ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron , visiting the British Museum
11th January	Paris ( France )	Participation in the solidarity march for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack
22nd of January	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
January 22nd and 23rd	Florence ( Italy )	Meeting with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi , meeting with representatives of German companies in Italy
January 30th	Strasbourg ( France )	Meeting with President François Hollande and the President of the European Parliament , Martin Schulz
February 2nd	Budapest ( Hungary )	Meeting with President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
February 5th	Kiev ( Ukraine )	Meeting with French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
February 6th	Moscow ( Russia )	Meeting with French President François Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin
February 8-10	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Barack Obama , meeting with the President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim
	Ottawa ( Canada )	Meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper
February 11th to 12th	Minsk ( Belarus )	Summit for a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine : meeting with French President François Hollande , Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko , Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aljaksandr Lukashenka
February 12th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the informal meeting of the European Council
20. February	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande
February 20th and 21st	Vatican City ( Vatican City ) and Rome ( Italy )	Meeting with high-ranking representatives from church and science, audience with Pope Francis , meeting with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin
4th of March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Visit of the European Commission and meeting with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker , meeting with King Philippe at Laken Castle
March 9th and 10th	Tokyo and Kawasaki ( Japan )	Meeting with Emperor Akihito , meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe , visiting a German company
March 19th and 20th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
25th March	Seyne ( France )	Visit of the crash site of Germanwings flight 9525 together with the French President François Hollande and the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
March 30	Helsinki ( Finland )	Meeting with President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Alexander Stubb
April 23	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the EU special summit on refugee policy
April 27	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the German-Polish government consultations
April 28	Copenhagen ( Denmark )	Meeting with Queen Margrethe and Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
10th of May	Moscow ( Russia )	Wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, meeting with President Vladimir Putin
May 18	Geneva ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Health Assembly of the WHO , meeting with the Director General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan
May 21 and 22	Riga ( Latvia )	Participation in the 4th Eastern Partnership Summit
June 10th and 11th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the 8th EU-Latin America Summit
June 22	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the special summit of the heads of state and government of the euro zone on the Greek debt crisis
June 25th and 26th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
July 6th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President François Hollande to assess the situation after the Greek referendum
7th of July	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the special summit of the heads of state and government of the euro zone on the Greek debt crisis and the Greek referendum
July 8th and 9th	Tirana ( Albania )	Meeting with President Bujar Nishani and Prime Minister Edi Rama
	Belgrade ( Serbia )	Meeting with President Tomislav Nikolić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić
	Sarajevo ( Bosnia and Herzegovina )	Meeting with Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić
July 12	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the special summit of the heads of state and government of the euro zone on the Greek sovereign debt crisis as well as participation in the extraordinary European Council
17th August	Milan ( Italy )	Visit of the Expo 2015 together with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
August 19th and 20th	Brasília ( Brazil )	Participation in the 1st German-Brazilian government consultations and meeting with the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
August 27	Vienna ( Austria )	Meeting with Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann and Federal President Heinz Fischer , receiving the Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold on ribbon for services to the Republic of Austria , participation in the celebrations for the 60th birthday of the German Chamber of Commerce in Austria
September 3	Bern ( Switzerland )	Meeting with Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern
September 23rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in an informal meeting of the European Council on the refugee crisis in Europe
September 24-27	New York City ( United States )	Participation in the United Nations Summit
October 2nd	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande , the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the situation in Ukraine
October 4th to 6th	New Delhi and Bangalore ( India )	Participation in the German-Indian government consultations and meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
October 7th	Strasbourg ( France )	Meeting with President François Hollande and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz and participation in the plenary session of the European Parliament
9th October	Checkers ( United Kingdom )	Meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron
October 15th and 16th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
October 18	Istanbul ( Turkey )	Meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
October 25	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a meeting of EU heads of government on the refugee crisis in Europe
October 27	Paris ( France )	Participation in the European Round Table
October 28th to 30th	Beijing and Hefei ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang
November 11th and 12th	Valletta ( Malta )	Participation in the 5th EU-Africa Summit and an informal meeting of EU heads of state and government on the refugee crisis in Europe
November 15th and 16th	Antalya ( Turkey )	Participation in the G20 summit
25. November	Paris ( France )	Meeting with French President François Hollande to discuss how to proceed after the attacks in Paris
November 29th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the EU-Turkey summit to advise on solutions to the refugee crisis in Europe
30th of November	Paris ( France )	Participation in the UN climate conference
December 17th and 18th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2016

date	place	Main reason	image
February 4th	London ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the donor conference for Syria and the surrounding region "Supporting Syria and the Region". Merkel is co-hosting with British Prime Minister David Cameron , Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg , Kuwaiti Emir Al-Sabah and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon .
February 7th	Strasbourg ( France )	Informal meeting with EU Parliament President Martin Schulz and French President François Hollande
February 8	Ankara ( Turkey )	Meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
February 18th and 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
4th of March	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande
7th March	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the meeting of EU heads of state and government with Turkey to discuss the implementation of the action plan to reduce illegal entries from Turkey to the EU
March 17th and 18th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
7th of April	Metz ( France )	Participation in the 18th Franco-German Council of Ministers and meeting with the French President François Hollande
April 21	Middelburg and Eindhoven ( Netherlands )	Participation in the 2nd German-Dutch government consultations, meeting with the Dutch royal couple Willem-Alexander and Máxima as well as Princess Beatrix , meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
April 23	Gaziantep ( Turkey )	Trip to Turkey with EU Council President Donald Tusk and the 1st Vice President of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans
May 5th and 6th	Rome ( Italy ) and Vatican City	Meeting with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and participation in the awarding of the Charlemagne Prize to Pope Francis
May 22nd and 23rd	Istanbul ( Turkey )	Participation in the World Humanitarian Summit and meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
May 26th and 27th	Shima ( Japan )	Participation in the G7 meeting
May 29th	Verdun ( France )	Participation in the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun together with the French President François Hollande
June 1st	Rynächt and Pollegio ( Switzerland )	Participation in the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
June 12-14	Beijing and Shenyang ( People's Republic of China )	Participation in the 4th German-Chinese government consultations
June 28th and 29th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council with a focus on the UK's decision to leave the EU
July 4th	Paris ( France )	Participation in the 3rd conference on the Western Balkans
July 8th and 9th	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the NATO summit
July 13th and 14th	Bishkek ( Kyrgyzstan )	Meeting with the Kyrgyz President Almasbek Atambayev
July 15th and 16th	Ulaanbaatar ( Mongolia )	Participation in the Asia-Europe Meeting
August 22nd	Ventotene ( Italy )	Meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the French President François Hollande
August 24th and 25th	Tallinn ( Estonia )	Meeting with the Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas and the Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves as well as a visit to the NATO Competence Center
August 25	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Meeting with the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the Czech President Miloš Zeman as well as a visit to the Technical University in Prague
26th of August	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the meeting of the Visegrád group and meeting with the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło
August 31	Maranello ( Italy )	Meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
September 2nd	Évian-les-Bains ( France )	Participation in a panel discussion at the 25th Franco-German business meeting and meeting with French President François Hollande
September 4th and 5th	Hangzhou ( People's Republic of China )	Participation in the G20 summit
September 15th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with French President François Hollande in preparation for the meeting the following day in Bratislava
16th September	Bratislava ( Slovakia )	Participation in an informal meeting of the remaining EU heads of state and government on the future of the European Union
September 24th	Vienna ( Austria )	Participation in the Western Balkans meeting
October 9-11	Bamako ( Mali )	Meeting with the Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
	Niamey ( Niger )	Meeting with the President of Niger's Mahamadou Issoufou and meeting with German MINUSMA soldiers
	Addis Ababa ( Ethiopia )	Meeting with the Ethiopian President Hailemariam Desalegn and the chairman of the African Union Commission , Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
October 20th and 21st	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
15th December	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2017

date	place	Main reason	image
January 12th	Luxembourg ( Luxembourg )	Meeting with the Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Grand Duke Henri
	Brussels ( Belgium )	Awarded joint honorary doctorates from the University of Ghent and the Catholic University of Leuven as well as meetings with the Belgian King Philippe and the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel
31 January	Stockholm ( Sweden )	Meeting with the Swedish royal couple Carl XVI. Gustaf and Silvia as well as the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven
February 2nd	Ankara ( Turkey )	Meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
February 2nd and 3rd	Valletta ( Malta )	Participation in the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government on the migration issue and the future of the EU after Brexit
February 7th	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Beata Szydło and President Andrzej Duda ; further meetings with the chairman of the PiS party, Jarosław Kaczyński , the chairman of the Civic Platform , Grzegorz Schetyna and the chairman of the PSL , Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz
2nd March	Cairo ( Egypt )	Meeting with President Abd al-Fattah as-Sisi and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail , also meeting with the Pope and Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria Tawadros II in St. Mark's Cathedral and with the Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb
3 March	Tunis ( Tunisia )	Meeting with President Beji Caid Essebsi and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed
6th March	Versailles ( France )	Meeting with the French President François Hollande , the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
March 9th and 10th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council and an informal meeting in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome
17. March	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Donald Trump
March 24th and 25th	Rome ( Italy ) and Vatican City	Participation in the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaties and private audience with Pope Francis
April 29	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a special meeting of the European Council with the remaining 27 EU heads of state and government to determine the guidelines for the Brexit negotiations
April, 30th	Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia )	Meeting with the Saudi King Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz , Crown Prince Mohammed ibn Naif and the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed ibn Salman
1st of May	Abu Dhabi ( United Arab Emirates )	Meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayid Al Nahyan
2.May	Sochi ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
25. May	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the NATO summit
May 26th and 27th	Taormina ( Italy )	Participation in the G7 summit
8th June	Buenos Aires ( Argentina )	Meeting with President Mauricio Macri
June 9th and 10th	Mexico City ( Mexico )	Meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto
June 16 and 17	Rome ( Italy ) and Vatican City	Private audience with Pope Francis
June 22nd and 23rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
July 1	Strasbourg ( France )	Participation in a European funeral ceremony for the late former Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl
July 12	Trieste ( Italy )	Participation in the 4th Conference of the Western Balkans
July 13th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and participation in the 19th Franco-German Council of Ministers
August 28th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron , the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni , the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy , the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy , Federica Mogherini , the Chadian President Idriss Déby , the Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou and the Chairman of the Libyan one Presidential Council Fayiz al-Sarradsch
September 29th	Tallinn ( Estonia )	Participation in the EU digital summit of the heads of state and government of the EU
October 19th and 20th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
November 24th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the 5th Eastern Partnership Summit
November 29th	Abidjan ( Ivory Coast )	Participation in the summit of the European and African Union
13th December	Paris ( France )	Participation in the Sahel G5 conference

2018

date	place	Main reason	image
January 19th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron
January 20th	Sofia ( Bulgaria )	Meeting with the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissow
January 24th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
February 22nd and 23rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council and the EU- Sahel Conference

Fourth term

2018

date	place	Main reason	image
March 16	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron
19th March	Warsaw ( Poland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda
March 22nd and 23rd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
April 27	Washington, DC ( United States )	Meeting with President Donald Trump
12th of May	Assisi ( Italy )	Awarding of the Peace Prize "Lamp of Peace" by the Franciscans and meeting with the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
May 16 and 17	Sofia ( Bulgaria )	Participation in an informal meeting of the heads of state and government of the EU as well as in a meeting of the European Union with the third countries of the Western Balkans
May 18	Sochi ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
May 23-25	Beijing and Shenzhen ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang
May 30th and 31st	Braga , Porto and Lisbon ( Portugal )	Meeting with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa Visit to the Bosch development and technology center in Braga Visit to the University of Porto
3rd of June	Eppan ( Italy )	Visit to the training camp of the German national soccer team in the run-up to the soccer World Cup 2018
June 8th and 9th	La Malbaie ( Canada )	Participation in the G7 summit
June 21 and 22	Amman ( Jordan )	Meeting with the Jordanian King Abdullah II. Meeting with Bundeswehr soldiers stationed in Jordan
	Beirut ( Lebanon )	Meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri Meeting with the President Michel Aoun Meeting with the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri Visit to a double-shift school where Lebanese children are taught in the morning and Syrian refugee children in the afternoon
June 24th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the informal EU migration meeting
June 28th and 29th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
10th of July	London ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the Western Balkans Conference
July 11th and 12th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the NATO summit
August 11th and 12th	Almonte ( Spain )	Meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in his vacation home in the Coto de Doñana National Park
August 23rd to 25th	Tbilisi and Odzisi ( Georgia )	Meeting with President Giorgi Margwelashvili and Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze as well as a visit to the Georgian border with South Ossetia
	Yerevan ( Armenia )	Meeting with President Armen Sarkissjan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and laying of a wreath at the Zizernakaberd memorial
	Baku ( Azerbaijan )	Meeting with President İlham Əliyev
August 29th to 31st	Dakar ( Senegal )	Meeting with President Macky Sall
	Accra ( Ghana )	Meeting with President Nana Akufo-Addo
	Abuja ( Nigeria )	Meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
7th of September	Marseille ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron
September 8th	Skopje ( North Macedonia )	Meeting with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev
September 14th	Vilnius and Rukla ( Lithuania )	Meeting with the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė , the Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis , the Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis and the Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas as well as a visit to the NATO Battlegroup Lithuania
17th of September	Algiers ( Algeria )	Meeting with President Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika and Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia
September 19th and 20th	Salzburg ( Austria )	Participation in an informal meeting of the heads of state or government of the European Union
October 3rd and 4th	Jerusalem ( Israel )	Participation in the 7th German-Israeli government consultations and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin . Receipt of an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa .
October 10th	The Hague ( Netherlands )	Meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte
October 17th to 19th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council , the Euro Summit and the ASEM Summit
October 26th	Prague ( Czech Republic )	Meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš
October 27	Istanbul ( Turkey )	Meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin for a Syria summit
November 1st	Kiev ( Ukraine )	Meeting with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman
November 2	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the 15th German-Polish government consultations and meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
November 7th	Helsinki ( Finland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Juha Sipilä
November 10th and 11th	Paris and Compiègne ( France )	Joint participation with President Emmanuel Macron in a memorial event in the clearing of Rethondes and a visit to the Musée d'Orsay and participation in an international memorial ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe
November 13th	Strasbourg ( France )	Speech in the European Parliament
25. November	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a European Council excluding Great Britain
November 30th and December 1st	Buenos Aires ( Argentina )	Participation in the G20 summit
December 5th	Washington, DC ( United States )	Attending the memorial service for former US President George HW Bush
December 9th and 10th	Marrakech ( Morocco )	Participation in the conference on the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and meeting with the Moroccan King Mohammed VI. and Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani
December 13th and 14th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2019

date	place	Main reason	image
January 10th and 11th	Athens ( Greece )	Meeting with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
January 23rd and 24th	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
February 3rd to 5th	Tokyo ( Japan )	Meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and reception by Emperor Akihito
February 24th and 25th	Sharm el-Sheikh ( Egypt )	Participation in a summit of the European Union and the Arab League
27th of February	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron
March 21 and 22	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
26th of March	Paris ( France )	Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron , Chinese President Xi Jinping and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
March 29	Assisi ( Italy )	Participation in the award ceremony of the “Lamp of Peace” peace prize of the Franciscans to the Jordanian King Abdullah II and a meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
4. April	Dublin ( Ireland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar
10th of April	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a special meeting of the European Council
May 1st to 3rd	Ouagadougou ( Burkina Faso )	Meeting with President Roch Marc Kaboré as well as the presidents of the member states of the G5 Sahel and representatives of civil society
	Gao ( Mali )	Meeting with German soldiers from the MINUSMA mission
	Niamey ( Niger )	Meeting with President Mahamadou Issoufou and representatives of civil society and visiting the construction site of a women's shelter
May 9	Sibiu ( Romania )	Participation in an informal European Council
May 18	Zagreb ( Croatia )	Meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković
28th of May	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in an informal dinner of the heads of state or government of the European Union
30th May	Cambridge and Boston ( United States )	Attend the graduation ceremony of the Harvard University and received an honorary doctorate from the University and meeting with the governor of the state of Massachusetts , Charlie Baker
June 5th	Portsmouth ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the commemoration ceremony for the 75th anniversary of the landing of Allied troops in Normandy
June 11th	Geneva ( Switzerland )	Participation in the 108th International Labor Conference of the International Labor Organization
June 20th and 21st	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council and a Euro Summit
June 28th and 29th	Osaka ( Japan )	Participation in the G20 summit
June 30th to July 2nd	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a special EU summit to fill top positions in the European Union
5th July	Poznan ( Poland )	Participation in the Western Balkans Conference
August 19th	Sopron ( Hungary )	Participation in the festivities on the occasion of the opening of the Hungarian border 30 years ago and meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
August 19th and 20th	Þingvellir and Reykjavík ( Iceland )	Meeting with Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir , visiting a geothermal power plant and meeting with the heads of government of the Nordic Council
August 22nd	The Hague ( Netherlands )	Participation in the conference of the German-Dutch climate cabinet and meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte
August 24th to 26th	Biarritz ( France )	Participation in the G7 summit
September 1	Warsaw ( Poland )	Participation in the central commemorative event for the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War
September 5th to 7th	Beijing and Wuhan ( People's Republic of China )	Meeting with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang , visiting various companies and giving a speech at Huazhong University
September 22nd to 24th	New York City ( United States )	Participation in the UN climate summit  and in the UN General Assembly
October 13th	Paris ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron
October, 16th	Toulouse ( France )	Participation in the Franco-German Council of Ministers
October 17th and 18th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council
October 30th to November 2nd	New Delhi ( India )	Participation in the German-Indian government consultations and meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ; Signing of an agreement to modernize Indian public transport
November 11th	Rome ( Italy )	Meeting with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
20th November	Zagreb ( Croatia )	Meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković
December 3rd and 4th	London and Watford ( United Kingdom )	Participation in the NATO summit and bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , British Prime Minister Boris Johnson  and US President Donald Trump
6th of December	Oświęcim ( Poland )	Visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
9th of December	Paris ( France )	Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron , Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi
December 12th and 13th	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in the European Council

2020

date	place	Main reason	image
11th January	Moscow ( Russia )	Meeting with President Vladimir Putin
January 23	Davos ( Switzerland )	Participation in the World Economic Forum
January 24th	Istanbul ( Turkey )	Meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
February 5th and 6th	Pretoria ( South Africa )	Meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa
February 7th	Luanda ( Angola )	Meeting with President João Lourenço
20. February	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a special meeting of the European Council
8th of July	Brussels ( Belgium )	Speech in the European Parliament ; first trip abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic
July 17th to 21st	Brussels ( Belgium )	Participation in a special meeting of the European Council
20th of August	Bormes-les-Mimosas ( France )	Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron

Web links

• Official foreign visits by Chancellor Angela Merkel on the official website of the Chancellor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.berliner-zeitung.de October 1, 1998: Inaugural visit of the designated Federal Chancellor in France / cooperation is being expanded
2. ↑ Hans-Peter Schwarz: Helmut Kohl: A political biography , p. 352
3. ↑ Ursula Welter: France mourns former Chancellor Schmidt , deutschlandfunk.de, November 11, 2015
4. ↑ zeit.de: A visit to the tidy showcase camp
5. ↑ planned a few days earlier; postponed due to snow storm ( Merkel's visit to Trump postponed due to bad weather , on www.faz.net, accessed on June 18, 2018)
6. ↑ http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/gipfeltreffen-kanzlerin-merkel-reist-ende-april-zu-us-praesident-trump/21144230.html