New German leader Friedrich Merz will meet Trump next week at the White House

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, with the war in Ukraine and trade tensions among the items on the agenda, the German government said Saturday.

Merz's office said the new German leader, who took the helm of Europe's biggest economy on May 6, will meet Trump at the White House on Thursday — the first in-person meeting between the two.

It said that the meeting will address bilateral relations and international issues such as Russia's war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and trade policy.