WASHINGTON, 9 April, 2021 (TON): As a part of a foreign tour, the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Germany next week.

This tour will also include his visit to Israel, UK and the NATO headquarters in Belgium.

Austin will be the first of US President Joe Biden's cabinet to travel to Germany. 

According to the Pentagon’s statement issued on Thursday, the U.S. official will meet the Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Foreign and Security Policy Adviser Jan Hecker.

The talks aim to reinforce the value the US places on the bilateral defense relationship with one of our closest NATO Allies, the Pentagon said.

Besides, there will also be discussions on combating the malign influence of our shared strategic rivals, and continued dialogue on US force posture in Germany and elsewhere.

Austin will also visit US European Command and US Africa Command headquarters in Germany to meet with US troops and senior commanders.

However, Germany is one of the United States' closest and strongest allies. The United States and Germany work side by side to maintain peace and freedom, and Germany plays an important role in NATO's core mission of collective defense.