Former NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg is set to travel to Washington for the inauguration of incoming US president Donald Trump on January 20.
Stoltenberg, who is set to become the head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), told dpa on Tuesday that his focus will be on strengthening US-European relations in his new role.
Stoltenberg is expected to officially take over the role of chairman of the MSC after the upcoming conference meeting from February 14 to 16.
With Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, the world’s largest conference on foreign and security policy will be led by a non-German. The MSC was founded in 1963.
Each February, top political and defence officials gather in southern Germany to debate international security matters.
The MSC is hoping for strong representation from the incoming Trump administration, with the US vice president traditionally presenting the new administration’s foreign policy at the conference. Last year, JD Vance, Trump’s designated vice president, attended as a Republican senator.
Germany’s official representative at Trump’s inauguration is scheduled to be the ambassador in Washington, Andreas Michaelis. A government spokeswoman pointed out that US protocol typically designates ambassadors to represent foreign nations at presidential inaugurations.
In mid-December, Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that several world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, had been invited, though no further details were provided.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has confirmed plans to visit Trump in Washington soon after the inauguration.