(VOVworld) – US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that the two countries need to maintain the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.

US President Barack Obama (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the press conference after their meeting. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

In a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, President Obama and Chancellor Merkel acknowledged that despite the advances in the TTIP negotiations, the free trade deal is facing significant opposition in Europe, especially in Germany, and from US President-elect Donald Trump.

Merkel hoped that under the Trump administration, Germany and the US would continue to closely cooperate on the basis of each country’s policies and shared values, adding that she greatly valued the cooperation between US and Germany security agencies amid terrorism threats. In response, President Obama praised Germany’s contributions to the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Merkel’s determination to solve the migrant crisis.

The two leaders also discussed nuclear policies, climate change, the economy and finance, and the fight against terrorism, as well as the alliance within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and relations between NATO and Russia.