Merkel Addresses US Congress on Berlin Wall Anniversary
By VOA News
03 November 2009
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Washington to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, is speaking later Tuesday to a joint meeting of both houses of the U.S. Congress.
She will be the first German leader to address the House or Senate since Konrad Adenauer in 1957.
Ms. Merkel says the chance to speak to the American lawmakers is a great honor and an opportunity to thank the United States for its support for German unification after the wall came down on November 9 in 1989.
The chancellor also will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday. Their talks are expected to include the war in Afghanistan, Iran's nuclear program, economic issues and global warming.
Ms. Merkel is in the United States for the first time since she was re-elected to lead Germany's government in September.
The United States wants Germany and other NATO partners to make a bigger contribution to the war in Afghanistan and support tougher sanctions against Iran.
Germany would like to see the United States make deeper cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, which many scientists say cause global warming.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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