President Obama will travel to Germany in late April to attend the world's largest trade show and discuss a pending trans-Atlantic trade agreement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House announced Wednesday.
Obama will become the first sitting president to attend the Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial technology trade show, which is in its 69th year and attracts about 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors each year. The White House said that Obama use his time at the event to sell the U.S. as a prime destination for foreign investment, reported The Hill.
"The president's participation - a first for a sitting U.S. president - presents a unique opportunity to showcase American innovation and ingenuity and to highlight the United States as a prime investment destination," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
During what will be his fifth trip to Germany, the president will also meet with Merkel to advance negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
The visit "underscores the enduring political and economic ties between Americans and Germans and highlights the U.S. commitment to trade and investment as drivers of job creation and economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic," Earnest said, according to USA Today.
The White House announced the trip while President Obama and his family are on vacation in Hawaii. His last trip to Germany was for the G-7 economic summit in southern Germany last June.
Politico reported this week that Obama plans to go on at least a half dozen international trips during his last year in office in an attempt to cement his foreign policy legacy. He will also travel to Poland in July for a NATO summit meeting.
The White House also said Wednesday that Obama will host leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Feb. 15 and 16 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., which is a follow-up to Obama's trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month, reported Reuters.
