Expected topics of the visit include the situation in the Gaza Strip, the war in Ukraine, migration, defense and the economy. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, followed by a dinner with the wives of both politicians.
When implementing US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip, the Chancellor is likely to ask Erdogan to use his influence on the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas to implement its planned disarmament. This would be a prerequisite for a planned international stabilization force. Turkey has offered to take part. Israel rejects this because of Ankara’s proximity to Hamas.
The war in Ukraine should also be addressed. The NATO country Türkiye has already served as a venue for talks between Ukraine and Russia on several occasions.
At the bilateral level, the federal government hopes that Ankara will make further commitments to the return of rejected Turkish asylum seekers during the visit. For its part, Germany has signaled support for Turkey in its desired inclusion in the 150 billion euro EU Safe arms program. This has so far been blocked by the EU member Greece.
Turkey sees the fact that the black-red federal government cleared the way for the delivery of Eurofighter fighter jets, which has been sought for years, in July. Germany prevented this during the traffic light government.
After landing in Ankara, the Chancellor wanted to meet with representatives of Turkish civil society for dinner on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, Merz will first take part in a wreath-laying ceremony in the mausoleum for the Turkish state’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (10:30 a.m. local time, 08:30 CET). Discussions with business representatives are planned afterwards.
With a trade volume of 51.8 billion euros, Turkey was the 14th most important German trading partner in 2024. More than 500 German companies operate in Turkey.
