Saturday, January 9, 2010

PM Netanyahu to Travel to Germany for Joint German-Israeli Cabinet Meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Berlin Jan. 18 for a joint meeting of the German and Israeli cabinets. The annual gathering is to be chaired by Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who are expected to discuss upgrading economic, political and security relations between the two countries as well as the issue of stopping the nuclear threat of Iran.

The Jan. 18 meeting also will include about 10 senior ministers from each government. The summit follows a similar one in held in Israel when Merkel traveled there in March 2008. That meeting marked the first time the German cabinet has met with another nation's cabinet outside of Europe.The January meeting was originally scheduled for November, but Netanyahu had to cancel due to illness.

Ten days after the Berlin meeting, Israeli President Shimon Peres is to make a state visit to Germany, where he is expected to give a speech during an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event on Jan. 27 in the German parliament.