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Immediate Release

Readout of Secretary Mattis’ Bilateral Meeting with Germany Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen today at the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

The leaders discussed a broad range of defense issues, emphasizing the importance of the U.S-German relationship both bilaterally and in the NATO Alliance. 

Secretary Mattis thanked the minister for her country’s strong leadership in a complex global security environment. He highlighted Germany’s participation as an enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) framework nation, noting that he recently visited the German battlegroup in Lithuania. They also discussed ongoing missions Afghanistan and Africa. ‎

Finally, Secretary Mattis emphasized the importance of on-going collaboration between the United States and Germany.