U.S. President Barack Obama begins tour of Germany

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived at Hanover airport on Sunday (April 24) for a two-day visit to the northern German city.

The president was whisked off by a waiting motorcade to the Royal Palace of Herrenhausen, where he was to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of his closest allies in dealing with a shaky global economy and security crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

It will be the last stop on a six-day foreign journey where Obama has sought to shore up U.S. alliances he views as key to grow trade, defeat Islamic State militants, and offset Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

Later on Sunday, Obama will tour and speak at Hanover’s massive industrial trade fair with Merkel. The leaders want to breathe life into a U.S.-European free trade agreement which supporters say could boost each economy by some $100 billion.

Their push comes at a time when many Europeans and Americans alike are deeply suspicious the deal could cost jobs and affect standards.

Before Obama returns to Washington late Monday (April 25), he and Merkel will get together with British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to talk about beefing up intelligence sharing after recent attacks in France and Belgium.