Madrid (dpa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in the city of San Lucar de Barrameda in southern Spain for talks with the country’s new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, early Saturday afternoon.
Sanchez and his wife, Begona Gomez, greeted Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, at the start of the two-day trip.
The two heads of government were set to hold a working lunch with talks focussed on migration and refugees before holding a joint press conference.
On Monday, Spain signed an agreement with Berlin on the return of asylum seekers from Germany who have already lodged an asylum claim in Spain. It is the first European Union country to sign such an agreement with Germany.
Sanchez invited Merkel to visit him during his summer holiday for two days, Saturday and Saturday, according to the Spanish government.
As well as migration, the two leaders are expected to discuss economic and monetary reform in the EU, the recent NATO summit and European defence.
A visit to nearby Donana national park is also planned, according to a German government spokesman on Saturday.