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ShareWashington: US president Barack Obama today said his country's alliance with Germany has been an extraordinary pillar of its transatlantic ties as chancellor Angela Merkel arrived here on a landmark visit.
Merkel, during her maiden US trip since winning a second term in September, will be the first German leader to address a joint meeting of the US Congress.
"The alliance between United States and Germany has been an extraordinary pillar of transatlantic relationship," Obama said at a joint press conference with Merkel, before the two leaders met at the White House.
Noting that Germany has been an extraordinarily strong ally on a whole host of international issues, Obama lauded the sacrifices of German soldiers in Afghanistan, and the common work there to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and to create the environment in which the Afghan people themselves can provide for their own security.
With around 4,200 soldiers, Germany is currently the third-largest supplier of foreign troops in the war-ravaged country after the United States and Britain.
