US President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold his last bilateral meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in the German capital, the final leg of his European farewell tour before leaving the White House in January.
The relationship between Obama and Merkel - eight years after he came to power and 11 years after she did - has been characterised for the most part by mutual appreciation, though spying revelations caused some upheaval in 2013.
Before leaving Washington for the tour, Obama referred to Merkel as probably his "closest international partner these past eight years."
Obama arrived in Germany late on Wednesday after meeting with Greek leaders, visiting the famed Acropolis and giving a speech in which he said that reducing inequality in the globalised world was key to maintaining democratic systems.
The US president is scheduled to remain in Germany until Friday, when he is expected to meet European leaders including Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Francois Hollande, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
He is expected to reassure them after the unexpected US presidential election win of billionaire Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and express his country's support for a strong, integrated and united Europe.
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