Biden to visit Germany to discuss Ukraine and Gaza, previous trip cancelled over hurricane

Biden will also reschedule trip to Angola to build on multilateralist infrastructure investment agenda in bid to counter Chinese influence

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US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Germany and Angola this week. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:50am, 14 Oct 2024

US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Germany next week, a government source said on Sunday, after a previously planned trip was cancelled due to Hurricane Milton.

“He’s coming to Berlin on Friday” for a one-day visit, the source said.

According to German media reports Biden will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East expected to be high on his agenda.

Debris and damage from Hurricane Milton as US President Joe Biden visits the area, in St Pete Beach, Florida on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Biden’s original visit to Germany was to have taken place between October 10 and 12 and to have included a four-way summit with Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

He had also planned to travel to Angola immediately afterwards as part of a series of valedictory international trips in the final months of his presidency after he withdrew from the race in July, and to build on a multilateralist infrastructure investment agenda in a bid to counter Chinese influence.

Biden has said publicly he is committed to rescheduling the trip to Angola, telling reporters last week that he would work the trip out later but needed to focus on hurricane recovery efforts.

Biden had also planned to hold a meeting of more than 50 of Ukraine’s allies to discuss further support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion.