BERLIN (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will meet NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and other senior policymakers during a trip to Brussels starting on Monday, a spokesperson for his ministry said.
The visit comes after Wadephul postponed a trip to China, originally scheduled to start on Sunday, because Beijing confirmed only one of his requested meetings, in a sign of rising tension with Berlin over trade and security matters.
During the trip to Brussels, Wadephul will also meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Trade Commissioner Sefcovic and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the spokesperson for Germany’s foreign ministry said.
“The focus of the consultations with representatives of the EU and NATO – the organisations that bring together our most important and closest partners and allies – will be on continued support for Ukraine and European security and defence capabilities,” the spokesperson said.
Another focus of the talks will be international trade issues, including prospects and potential solutions for ensuring a smooth supply of important raw materials, in particular rare earths and computer chips, two areas that are subject to bottlenecks.
India’s Goyal is in Brussels for trade policy talks, the spokesperson said.
The EU and India are working to meet a year-end deadline for signing a free trade pact.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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