German-US relations
October 5, 2009
Government spokesman Thomas Steg said Merkel, who won a second term in the September 27 general election, will address both houses of Congress on November 3, on the invitation of House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"It's a rare honor for foreign heads of state to be able to speak before the Senate and the House of Representatives," Steg told a news conference in Berlin.
"Of Germany's chancellors, only Konrad Adenauer, who spoke to both houses in May 1957, has had this privilege."
Meeting with Obama scheduled
Steg said Merkel's address will focus on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the state of trans-Atlantic relations.
Merkel is also set to have talks with US President Obama during her trip. On Merkel's last visit to Washington in June, she and Obama presented a united front on topics such as better regulation of the financial markets, efforts to fight climate change, and Iran.
dc/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Nancy Isenson